Tottenham manager Ryan Mason has kept Ivan Perisic on the substitutes' bench in their last two fixtures, despite the 34-year-old's impressive performance against recent clashes with Manchester United and Liverpool.
Last Saturday, Tottenham suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss against Aston Villa, highlighting the need for them to secure a European spot in the remaining two games of the 2022/23 season. The next match is against Brentford, followed by a game against Leeds United, who are fighting against relegation.
Considering the underwhelming performance at Villa Park, where the Spurs struggled in the first half while Aston Villa dominated, interim head coach Ryan Mason may consider making changes to the team to bounce back. Despite fielding the same lineup that had defeated Crystal Palace the previous week, Mason introduced Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, Arnaut Danjuma, and Ivan Perisic in the latter stages of the game as they sought a way to get back into the match.
Ryan Mason is under pressure to find a winning combination as the team faces the real risk of missing out on European competitions altogether. In this context, players like Perisic, Kulusevski, and Bissouma could benefit from the situation. If Perisic can contribute a few more assists to his already impressive tally of 12 for the season, it could potentially have a significant impact on Tottenham's chances of qualifying for European competition.
Upon his arrival at the Spurs in the beginning of the season, the Croatia international has made 12 assist and scored one goal in a total of 43 appereacnes.