Davinson Sanchez’s red card adds to Tottenham’s defensive crisis

Tottenham are facing a defensive crisis ahead of their Premier League clash with Manchester City after Davinson Sanchez was sent off against Watford.

The centre-back was shown a straight red card in Spurs' 1-1 draw away to Watford on Saturday after appearing to elbow striker Richarlison.

The dismissal means that Sanchez, who has become an integral figure for Spurs since arriving in the summer, will miss the club's next three games - which includes a trip to face runaway league leaders Manchester City.

He will first miss Tottenham's home game against Stoke City on Saturday 9 December before also sitting out the club's next match against Brighton at Wembley on Wednesday 13 December.

He will also be forced to miss Spurs' away clash against City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 16 December.

His absence provides a conundrum for Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is already without first-choice centre-back Toby Alderweireld through injury.

Without the Belgian and Sanchez available for the next three games, Pochettino will likely have to play Eric Dier and Jan Vertonghen at the heart of his defence and as part of a four-man defence, which would include Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies.