Tottenham continue their Europa League journey as they take on Welfsburg in a Round of 32 clash on Thursday. This is the first European competition knockout round tie in Wolfsberg history. Given the situation in regards to the team news, what kind of changes will they make to the team?
Spurs have been struggling since the start of the new year and have lost their last two games. They have also been knocked out of the FA cup so they have extra motivation to put on a strong showing in this game.
Given that this is the away leg for the North Londoners, they will be focused on getting an advantage as they head back to London. It is most likely that Jose Mourinho will send out a strong team to try and get the job done. It’s becoming more apparent by the week- the best chance to get Spurs into Champions League next season is by winning the UEL.
Mourinho will have his team in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with captain Hugo Lloris in goal. In defence, we can expect a couple of changes that will make it more solid, hopefully.
Davinson Sanchez will be dropped and Toby Alderweireld will take his place. Japhet Tanganga will drop to the bench with Matt Doherty slotting in as the right back. Ben Davies will start at left back and Eric Dier will be the other centre back.
And for the centre of midfield, Mourinho is likely to turn to his trusted duo of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko. This has worked very well in the past as these are two players who complement each other well.
It also allows Spurs to push Tanguy Ndombele forward where he will be more dangerous.
Ahead of the central midfield duo, it will be the trio of Heung-min Son, Steven Bergwijn and Ndombele. The bulk of the attacking threat for Spurs will come from these three players.
Their pace and skill on the ball will be a real problem to deal with for the Wolfsberg defence. In particular, the Korean winger will be looking to increase his goal tally for the season.
Harry Kane will be leading the line for Tottenham giving the team a focal point in attack. He is capable of creating and scoring goals and will want to get the visitors a lead heading into the second leg. Though Spurs are the stronger team, they must not get complacent and should pay their opponents the respect they deserve.
Predicted Tottenham Starting XI Against Wolfsberg (4-2-3-1):
Hugo Lloris, Matt Doherty, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Ben Davies, Moussa Sissoko, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Steven Bergwijn, Tanguy Ndombele, Heung-min Son, Harry Kane