Judgement day beckons for Ange Postecoglou in Frankfurt, with his Spurs side aiming to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
Amid a torrid domestic season which only worsened at the weekend, Europe has long represented Postecoglou’s last hope as Spurs boss. His team deserved more than a 1-1 draw in last week’s quarter-final first leg against Eintracht, but their inability to bypass Kaua Santos after Pedro Porro’s equaliser has left them with a tough task on Thursday.
Deutsche Bank Park is no library, and we’ve seen superior Spurs sides wilt in such environments over the years.
It’s going to take a performance unlike very few we’ve seen from Ange’s men this season to advance, and here’s how they’re likely to line up in Germany.
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – The Italian must shake off a poor showing at Wolves for the second leg, as Frankfurt are expected to test him much more than they did last week in north London.
RB: Pedro Porro – Porro’s clever finish in the first leg cancelled out Hugo Ekitike’s brilliant opener and set the stage for an impressive Spurs display. He’ll be back in the side in Germany.
CB: Cristian Romero – The Argentine looked more like himself last Thursday, but has struggled for form domestically since returning from a long-term injury. Ekitike represents an awkward test.
CB: Micky van de Ven – Van de Ven is a shoo-in to return alongside Romero after he was rested at the weekend. Spurs are far, far better when the Dutchman is in the team.
LB: Destiny Udogie – Djed Spence’s omission from the starting XI last week raised eyebrows, but the Italian was brilliant down the left-hand side. Udogie was eventually forced off due to cramp and didn’t play a part at Molineux. However, he’s poised to return to Ange’s defence here.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – Bentancur, like Udogie, produced his best display in months in the first leg. The Uruguayan covered ground well and distributed efficiently. Suddenly, it was 2022/23 again! He’ll have to perform at a similar level in Frankfurt for Spurs to establish control in the middle of the park.
CM: Lucas Bergvall – One of the very few shining lights to emerge from Spurs’ season, Bergvall almost lit up north London last week with his strike from distance which thumped against the crossbar. The Swedish teenager is a superstar in the making, and Ange will turn to the teenager to grab this contest by the scruff of its neck.
CM: James Maddison – Maddison has statistically performed well this term, but these are the sorts of occasions when Spurs need him most. Can he deliver?
RW: Dejan Kulusevski – He may not be 100%, but this is Spurs’ season we’re talking about here! Kulusevski has to be in the side after appearing off the bench on Sunday.
ST: Dominic Solanke – Solanke has been shy of goals since returning from injury, but he’ll retain his place over Richarlison despite the Brazilian’s goal at Wolves.
LW: Son Heung-min – The South Korean skipper was preserved at the weekend, with both eyes focused on the second leg. Son was poor last Thursday but has so often been the man to show up for the Lilywhites on big away days. Well, he used to anyway.
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