Tottenham Hotspur make the challenging trip to Glasgow this Thursday as they prepare to face Rangers in the Europa League.
Spurs are on a four-game winless streak, losing their last Premier League outings against Bournemouth and Chelsea. These results have left Ange Postecoglou’s side in the bottom half of the table as pressure begins to mount on the former Celtic boss in north London.
A mitigating factor in recent disappointment is Tottenham’s defensive injury crisis. Spurs are short in the center of their backline and may have to field a less-seen combination for Thursday’s trip to Scotland.
Here’s how spurs could line up against the Rangers.
GK: Fraser Forster – The experienced keeper wasn’t helped by his error-prone defense on Sunday, as he dispatched four. Things are unlikely to be much more cohesive in front of him on Thursday.
RB: Pedro Porro – Jadon Sancho gave Porro a difficult afternoon at the weekend and will be relieved to avoid players of the Englishman’s quality on Thursday. Still, he could be made to work hard by the in-form Nedim Bajrami and Hamza Igamane.
CB: Radu Dragusin – It’s fair to say that the absence of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in recent weeks has highlighted Dragusin’s shortcomings. With both regular centre-backs suffering setbacks on their return at the weekendthe Romanian will have to start again at Ibrox.
CB: Archie Gray – With Ben Davies also among Tottenham’s ever-growing injury list, the versatile Gray may be asked to step in. The young summer recruit has generally performed well when called upon this term.
LB: Djed Spence – Destiny Udogie could get a break after a busy season in the starting lineup and the rarely seen Spence could be given a start. He has only played five games this term.
CM: James Maddison – Postecoglou has found it difficult to accommodate both Maddison and the impressive Dejan Kulusevski in the same XI this season. Maddison started on the bench at the weekend, meaning he should get the nod against Rangers.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – The midfielder is still suspended from domestic matches, but is available in the Europa League. He will be the deepest member of Spurs’ midfield at Ibrox and has a huge responsibility in covering a weakened defence.
CM: Lucas Bergvall – The young Swede has been limited almost entirely to cameos from the bench this campaign, but has made a strange start in the Europa League. The 18-year-old has shown his quality in interviews.
RW: Timo Werner – With Brennan Johnson out through illness at the weekend and Wilson Odobert among the injured, Werner could be tasked with starting on the right against Rangers.
ST: Dominic Solanke – Will Lankshear has occasionally been given the nod ahead of Solanke in Europe, but Richarlison’s injury means there is no senior replacement for the summer signing. He scored the first goal in a month against the old bosses Chelsea the weekend
LW: Son Heung-min – Son has an underwhelming record against Chelsea for a striker of his quality and consistency, but added to his tally against the Blues in stoppage time on Sunday. We haven’t seen him quite get it right yet this season.
