Tottenham Hotspur have been abysmal at home this season.

Tottenham Hotspur will turn their heads to Europe in the hope that it continues to serve as a getaway from all the domestic intensity.

The North Londoners have endured a difficult campaign within the English shores, and that 2-1 defeat against West Ham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was just a trailer of how things have been at N17. And you could sense the immense pressure on Thomas Frank’s head as patience continues to wear thin among the supporters and the board at Hotspur Way.

And with qualification hopes, pride, and possibly Frank’s job on the line, Tottenham Hotspur hosts Borussia Dortmund later today.

Tottenham Hotspur team news ahead of Dortmund game

The Lilywhites saw their injury woes increase as Ben Davies was stretched off against the Hammers. He was not the only one to cause Frank some head scratching, as Xavi Simons and Archie Gray also picked up knocks. Joao Palhinha will continue to be a doubt after missing out on the West Ham game.

Yves Bissouma made his first appearance of the season against the Hammers, but the Malian international will play no part against Dortmund given that he is not in the Champions League squad for the Lilywhites. The same goes for winter signing Conor Gallagher, who is also not registered in the UCL and will not be present for the North Londoners.

Micky van de Ven is suspended due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

How can Tottenham line up vs Dortmund?

On paper, Thomas Frank & Co. should line up in a 4-2-3-1 structure. Despite their recent knocks, all three of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, and Xavi Simons should be a part of it, with the former two in the double pivot and Xavi Simons in a more advanced creator role. The Dutch maestro should settle in behind Randal Kolo Muani.

Looking at the back four, the duo of Pedro Porro and Djed Spence will hold the width. And in the absence of Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso comes in to play alongside Cristian Romero like he has done many times this season. Both of them at the back should be a complement of aggression and physicality in the heart of the defense.

When with the ball, Frank & Co. will morph their shape into more of a 3-2-5. Here, Spence will stay deeper, which will vaguely give you a back three with Romero and Danso. Porro pushes extremely high on the right as Tottenham looks to take advantage of his offensive abilities. Porro high will give Tottenham the ability to pin the fullback on his side and overload wide areas while having that width in attack.

Gray will be your defensive anchor. In the absence of Palhinha, the Leeds academy graduate will be screening counter-attacks and recycling possession. Bergvall will do what he does best: carry the ball forward and break lines with his passing and movements. Simons is the creative hub, so we should see him drift between the lines and look to feed runners (Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert).

We have seen Simons carrying the ball a lot in recent weeks, but his carries should lead to more aggressive passes, and hopefully, we see a bit of that in tonight’s game.

Going into the attack, Kolo Muani takes charge. We should also see him making those between-the-lines runs that made him a household name a few seasons back. It is something that is apparently lacking right now, but with Simons behind him, the Frenchman should start to bisect defenders behind.

Then if we talk about Tottenham out of possession, ideally you’d expect a Thomas Frank side to drop into more of a 4-5-1.

Odobert and Tel will drop deep to support the midfield. Then Simons and Bergvall will help congest areas down the middle while Gray sits just in front of the back four in that Palhinha role.

The biggest threat for Dortmund is Serhou Guirassy. He has this ability to drop deep and link play, which should test the coordination between Romero and Gray. If Tottenham loses control of that zone (or Romero goes AWOL with his all-aggressive defending), Dortmund will have space to play straight through the Lilywhites.

Another danger area is Tottenham’s right side. With Porro pushing so high, space will inevitably appear behind him. Gray will have to shift across quickly to prevent Dortmund from exploiting transitions down that channel.

TTLB’s Tottenham lineup vs Dortmund: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Danso, Spence; Gray, Bergvall; Odobert, Simons, Tel; Kolo Muani