Tottenham Hotspur host Azerbaijan side Qarabag FK on Thursday in their opening Europa League fixture, looking to continue their run of two wins in all competitions.
Spurs fans were shell-shocked by their toothless loss to rivals Arsenal in the Premier League, but the boys bounced back from 1-0 down to clinch a win over Coventry City in the Third Round of the EFL Cup.
Ange Postecoglou’s side then defeated Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Now, they turn their attention to the Europa League.
Postecoglou beat his chest defiantly, claiming he always delivers trophies in his second season. The Australian manager knows the cups are his best chance of bringing the north London side a first piece of silverware since 2008.
Postecoglou’s side must start this Europa League campaign with a resounding win to ease fan nerves and set the team up to make a deep run into the tournament.
Postecoglou has a lot of positives from which to draw confidence. Tottenham’s attacking force finally looked to be on the same page during the win over Brentford.
James Maddison was on fire against the Bees, scoring one and creating another big chance. Dominic Solanke opened his Spurs account while Brennan Johnson scored for the second consecutive game.
Also, Spurs have a 100% win ratio against the Azerbaijan Premier League side. They met in the 2015/16 Europa League in Group J.
In the first leg in London, Qarabag quickly took the lead, but a brace from Son Heung-Min and a late Erik Lamela strike helped Spurs claim the victory.
Their second leg also ended in a Spurs win, with Harry Kane bagging a 78th-minute winner created by Son. The two-time UEFA Cup winners will be eager to make it a treble of victories over their Azerbaijani counterparts.
Spurs will be without centre-back Romero due to a red card he picked up in the Champions League against AC Milan 18 months ago. Attackers Richarlison and Wilson Odobert are also sidelined with injuries.
Meanwhile, Yves Bissouma made an appearance off the bench during the Brentford win. He could start the game against Qarabag.
Tottenham will be desperate to begin their European campaign with a strong result and are not expected to change much from the side that beat Brentford.
Predicted Tottenham Starting Line-up v Qarabag
(4-3-3-): Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Micky Van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie; James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma; Son Heung-Min, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson.