The good news for Tottenham Hotspur, heading into their Europa League qualifier match against Lokomotiv Plovdiv, is that they have no new injuries or suspensions to worry about.
Spurs will be looking to bounce back after suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Everton in their Premier League regular season opener. They won’t have much time to think about the loss as their next game is already here.
Before we get started, let’s take a look at the FYIs in this one. Kickoff for this one is 7pm local time (5pm BST) at the Lokomotiv Stadium Plovdiv. Legal online casinos see Spurs as heavy favorites in this one. In looking at the odds for this Europa League second qualifying round clash, you’ll typically see Tottenham backed to win in the -455 to -530 range. The quote depends on which casino you go with. Plovdiv are typically priced at +800 to +1000, with the range varying at each sports book. A draw can be had within a much tighter range, +475 to +505.
Also, for our Tottenham Hotspur starting XI orediction go to this link. While there are no suspension issues for the team to contend with, they do have a couple of players who will miss out on Thursday’s game. One of them is midfielder Giovani Lo Celso who is still a major doubt for the match with a slight thigh injury. While there is a chance the midfielder could make it back in time for Thursday, it is more likely that he will be saved for other fixtures later this month.
The other injury issue of concern relates to talented youngster Japhet Tanganga, who is definitely out, having also picked up a thigh injury in pre-season. The defender is still a couple of weeks away from returning, so manager Jose Mourinho will have to plan accordingly.
Fans should be expecting some squad rotation on Thursday as Spurs have to contend with an extremely packed schedule at the moment. They will also be traveling to Southampton on Sunday, so they will have to rest some first team players and give more reserves a chance here.
As a result of the rotation, there could be a Spurs debut for Joe Hart in goal. Other players that could come into the side are Steven Bergwijn and Tanguy Ndombele. It is likely that players such as Heung-min Son will start on the bench, giving Mourinho an option to bring them in later in the game if a scoring spark is required.
Tottenham have to come away from Bulgaria with a strong showing, but that will not be easy. The North Londoners will potentially face three playoff games in order to reach the group stages of the Europa League. They will want to start off on the right note and fans will be hoping that they can step up here.