_{Antonio Conte’s Tottenham side could be set to face Man City’s Julian Alvarez in quick succession after his starring role for Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.}

The Tottenham squad will be divided on Sunday afternoon when Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero go head-to-head in the World Cup final. Some of the team will be hoping that Spurs’ No.1 creates history by captaining France to back-to-back World Cup titles, while others will cheering on Romero and Argentina as Lionel Messi looks to get his hands on the biggest prize of all.

Seen as the greatest player of all time by many, World Cup final success has so far managed to elude the Argentine ever since taking to the field in the competition for the first time back in 2006. The closest the Paris Saint-Germain ace came to winning it was in 2014 but Mario Götze’s extra-time winner saw Albiceleste defeated 1-0 by Germany in the final.

Now his last opportunity to win the World Cup with his glittering career nearing a conclusion, the 35-year-old is doing all he can to drag his teammates kicking and screaming to a final win after contributing five goals and three assists in their six games. Messi has been majestic this World Cup and is odds-on to win the Golden Ball after a standout campaign in Qatar.

He has had a little help along the way, however, with Man City’s Julian Alvarez really making quite a name for himself in the competition. Named on the bench for their first two group games, the highly-rated striker has made the position his own with four goals and one assist since Lionel Scaloni handed him a start against Poland.

The 22-year-old was the hero in their 3-0 semi-final win over Croatia after winning the penalty that Messi converted before adding two of his own to complete the convincing victory. You certainly wouldn’t bet against him scoring again in Sunday’s final vs France going on the performances he has delivered so far.

Alvarez’s form has only highlighted the transfer bargain that Pep Guardiola and Man City managed to pull off last January after signing him in a £14million deal from River Plate. Linking up with the Premier League champions in the summer, the Calchin-born player has mainly had to bide his time on the substitutes’ bench with fellow striker Erling Haaland plundering an astonishing 23 goals in 18 appearances since his move from Borussia Dortmund.

Alvarez may have had to settle for a backseat in his first few months in England, but he has caught the eye when chances have been there for him. Seven goals and two assists in the 890 minutes he has played across 20 appearances is a healthy return for a player who is still trying to get used to the demands of Premier League football and didn’t have a full pre-season with his teammates.

Guardiola really is going to find it hard to ignore Alvarez once he returns from the World Cup and an increase in minutes could come his way as a result. There’s also the scary possibility that he unleashes Alvarez and Haaland together as a strike force.

The City duo have been on the pitch together nine times this season and their head coach has admitted that they can indeed be paired alongside one another. Premier League defenders will be extremely worried if the Argentine can replicate his brilliant understanding with Messi once he joins forces with Haaland again.

Antonio Conte and Tottenham could soon find out what facing a partnership of Haaland and Alvarez is like with two games against the champions coming up in early 2023. The Lilywhites are pencilled in to play September’s postponed game at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday, January 19, with the date subject to change if either City or Spurs need an FA Cup replay against Chelsea or Portsmouth respectively.

Just over two weeks later and City will then make the trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, February 5. Two encounters that will be pivotal to Tottenham’s Champions League aspirations come the end of the campaign, Spurs ideally need a repeat of their results in 2021/22 where they sealed 1-0 and 3-2 wins over Guardiola’s men.

This time it will be a totally different task on their hands altogether as Man City now have two superstars who can lead the line and score for fun. Whether it’s Haaland or Alvarez they come up against later in January or early February, Spurs’ backline are going to be in for a major challenge.

That almighty task will become that even bit harder if both are unleashed at the same time after Alvarez’s huge role in Argentina’s run to the World Cup final. Finishing an incredible year on a high, Tottenham and the Premier League could be set to see a lot more of Argentina’s No.9 in 2023.