Tuesday 5 December 2017 17:31, UK
Dele Alli will start Tottenham's Champions League dead rubber against Apoel Nicosia as he aims to recover his form and confidence.
Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier and Hugo Lloris were all absent from training on Tuesday, with Pochettino confirming only those involved at Hotspur Way are in contention for Wednesday's game.
Spurs have already secured first place in Group H meaning the likes of Fernando Llorente, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Juan Foyth are expected to be given a chance at Wembley, while academy graduates Kazaiah Sterling (19) and Luke Amos (20) will both be in the squad.
Alli missed the first three group games through suspension but wants to use the opportunity for added minutes to get back to his best after struggling to match the form he showed in his first two campaigns at Tottenham.
"I think I am my own biggest critic," Alli said, speaking after Mauricio Pochettino in Tottenham's pre-match press conference. "Every time I know when I'm not playing well and if it's not going well for me, it's important that I keep working hard and trying every day to learn and improve as a player."
Alli, who was recently ranked the second most valuable U21 player in Europe's top five leagues, added: "Obviously I would like to be at my highest level in every single game and every training session but I don't think that's possible.
"So I think it's been a good opportunity for me to learn more about myself as a player and as a person, so I'm looking forward to it and I've got to keep enjoying it."
Like Tottenham, Alli has saved his best performances for the Champions League this season as Spurs have now gone four Premier League matches without a win.
The dip has seen them fall 18 points behind Manchester City and four adrift of the top four.
"It's not unusual for a team to have a dip in form," Alli said.
"There's nothing to worry about for us. We've got a great team, a great manager, great staff, so we're looking forward to getting into the next game and getting going."
