Tottenham will be travelling to Croatia where they will be facing Dinamo Zagreb in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie. Let’s take a look at the latest team news ahead of this game. (For the Tottenham starting XI go here)
Spurs will travel with some confidence knowing that they already lead by two goals. This will allow them to play with some ease on the pitch. They can wait for the visitors to make a move and can then hit them on the counter.
One of the major talking points of the Arsenal game at the weekend was that Heung-min Son had to be substituted with what looked to be a hamstring injury. Though it is not as severe as it could have been, the midfielder will still miss this game.
Another player who could miss out is midfielder Giovani Lo Celso who wasn’t fit enough for the first leg. There haven’t been any significant updates since, so it is likely the Argentine is still out, at least for this game.
Jose Mourinho will want his team to stay compact on Thursday and look to take any chances that happen to come their way. They do not have to go out of their way to create anything special here, having the security of a lead already.
Players such as Gareth Bale and Harry Kane will be looked upon to step up and lead the team. The former in particular has found some great form recently and will want to continue that against Zagreb.
Though the North Londoners are practically in the quarterfinals already, they must ensure that they don’t get carried away. Spurs must be patient and wait for the goals to come, as getting even one would make it that much harder for the hosts.
Tottenham are in such a position that they can afford to make some changes to their team for this match. This will see certain key players being rested, in order to keep them fresh for the weekend’s Premier League match.