Tottenham Hotspur will have it all to do against Eintracht Frankfurt
We gear up for the second leg of the Europa League’s quarter-finals as we see German giants Eintracht Frankfurt hosting Premier League heavyweights Tottenham Hotspur at Deutsche Bank Park in what is set up to be a crunch tie, given the first leg ending in a 1-1 stalemate. Both the teams showed the capacity to produce that moment of brilliance to take the tie home, which sets us up for an exciting ninety minutes this Thursday.
The North Londoners’ season hangs by a thread going into the game, and so does Ange Postecoglou’s future in charge at N17. And given where the club is positioned in the league table, going all the way in the Europa League seems to be the only way that the Lilywhites can qualify for European football. But bringing any sense of UEFA tier to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium seems like a difficult avenue, with the upcoming tie proving to be a tricky challenge.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur – Match Info
Thursday, 17th April
Stadium: Deutsche Bank Park
Time: 8 PM BST
Team News
Looking at the hosts, they will continue to be without their long-term absentee Kevin Trapp, with 22-year-old Brazilian goalie Kaua expected to continue in between the goal. Knuaff has been serving from the sidelines with a knee injury as well. Dino Toppmoller should have a full squad beyond the above-listed absentees.
While for the North Londoners, Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso should be in for a late fitness test to feature in the squad this Thursday. While the Lilywhites do have Romero and Van de Ven at their disposal yet again, it will be essential to have a potent backup in Danso on the bench, given how both the aforementioned players have only returned from injury not too long ago. Destiny Udogie, who had to depart from the first leg with cramps, is likely to be fit for the fixture and should be integrated into the starting lineup.
What to expect in Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur?
We know Eintracht Frankfurt to be a side that bags in their offensive abilities, and this has translated into goals; to put it into context, the German giants have netted # goals in the past three Europa League fixtures in the lead-up to the first leg last week. And given how they like to move the ball quickly and take advantage of one-on-one situations to get their set of plays in a high-probability goal-scoring sequence. The fact that the North Londoners have not been having the best of seasons at the back makes it a vulnerable trait going into the game.
We saw how Hugo Ekitike got the first goal in the first leg, and the Frenchman, who was also on target at the weekend, would be an integral factor in the outcome of the game.
While for Tottenham, Ange would like to have some control in the middle of the park, especially given how the North Londoners face a settled midfield. Moreover, the visitors will also have to make more space in the vertical lines to get more space into the commencement of the final third.
Key Player
James Maddison
Maddison has netted three goals away from home in UEFA’s second-tier competition this season. The England international created Porro’s goal in the first leg, and he will again have to be a goal-scoring/creating threat if the Lilywhites are to take anything from the game.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- TTLB Opinion: Is Postecoglou the reason behind Maddison’s underwhelming season at Tottenham?
- TTLB Opinion: Tottenham target Branthwaite and Guehi – but who makes more sense?
- TTLB Opinion: Tottenham could find it difficult to retain Dejan Kulusevski
Predicted Lineup
Frankfurt: Kaua, Kristensen, Koch, Tuta, Theate, Skhiri, Larsson, Bahoya, Gotze, Brown, Ekitike
Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Dier, Udogie, Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison, Son, Solanke, Brennan
