Tottenham Hotspur go toe-to-toe with Belgian League leaders Royal Antwerp in the Europa League on Thursday evening, hoping to take all three points back to the capital. The north London outfit managed to secure a narrow 1-0 win over Burnley earlier this week and are now ten games without defeat in all competitions.
Jose Mourinho will once again opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and could name a similar starting 11 that thumped LASK 3-0 in their opening fixture last week. Although we’re predicting the odd change.
Therefore, we can expect to see the likes of Son Heung-min and Harry Kane getting some well-deserved rest on the bench.
1. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Joe Hart (GK) – Brought in to be back up to World Cup winner Hugo Lloris, Hart will be expecting to start most Europa League games this season and that shouldn’t change Thursday evening.
Matt Doherty (RB) – Doherty and Serge Aurier continue to compete for the right-back spot, but with latter still recovering from an injury, it seems certain the summer arrival will start.
Davinson Sanchez (CB) – Rested in the win at Burnley on Monday and helped guide his team to a clean sheet last time out in Europe. Will be looking to put in another good showing after that calamity own goal against West Ham.
Eric Dier (CB) – With Japhet Tanganga still out with an injury and Joe Rodon ineligible for this competition, it looks like Dier will start in an attempt to back up Monday’s clean sheet. Toby Alderweireld will presumably be rested for Sundays league game at home to Brighton.
Sergio Reguilon (LB) – Seemingly Mourinho’s first-choice at left-back. The new man from Real Madrid should start this one ahead of Ben Davies having missed the Premier League game at Turf Moor.
2. Midfielders
Harry Winks (CM) – Perhaps hasn’t played as much Premier League football as he’d like so far, but can see him being a regular for Spurs in this Europa League campaign. Great player to have as a rotation option.
Moussa Sissoko (CM) – Started in the win at Burnley and expected to keep his place. Has been fairly solid alongside Tanguy Ndombele so far. Strong defensively and not always too shy going forward either.
Giovanni Lo Celso (CAM) – Has only been involved in three Spurs defeats in his last 20 outings and his return to regular football will be a huge boost to both Mourinho and the fans. Could do with stepping it up a gear and Thursday could act as an opportunity to do so.
3. Forwards
Gareth Bale (RW) – The golden boy. Not the same player who left in 2013, as cited by Mourniho, but still has bags of ability and will be looking to showcase some of that sooner rather than later.
Carlos Vinicius (ST) – A decent debut last week at LASK and will continue to act as back up striker to Harry Kane during Spurs’ congested season. Will likely be a regular in the Europa League, but will need some goals to back up that potential price tag.
Erik Lamela (LW) – Another player not used to defeat in the white of Spurs, only losing five of his last 30 games for the Lilywhites. Allows Son Heung-min a rest and has performed well in Europe for Spurs over the years.
Source : 90min