Tottenham begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday night when they welcome Azerbaijan champions Qarabag to the N17.
A fifth-place finish in Ange Postecoglou’s maiden season in charge sees the Lilywhites return to the Europa League for the first time since being humiliated by a managerless Dinamo Zagreb in the 2020/21 iteration of the competition.
It was Dinamo who also ensured that Spurs’ next opponents will not be playing Champions League football this season as they were thrashed 5-0 over two legs in the play-offs.
On the other hand, Qarabag have enjoyed a good start to the season and head into Thursday’s clash after winning three on the bounce. Spurs are also in good spirits after their impressive 3-1 win over Brentford on Saturday.
The length of the new league phase means a matchday 1 win isn’t paramount, but this is nonetheless a great opportunity for Spurs to get off to the best possible start.
here it is 90 minutes Thursday preview Europa League shock
Tottenham vs Qarabag H2H Record (all matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Tottenham |
Karabakh |
|---|---|
|
Tottenham 3-1 Brentford – 21/09/24 |
Karabagh 4-0 Neftci – 20/09/24 |
|
Coventry 1-2 Tottenham – 18/09/24 |
Qarabag 2-1 Sebail – 14/09/24 |
|
Tottenham – Arsenal 0-1 – 15/09/24 |
Zira 1-3 Qarabag – 01/09/24 |
|
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham – 24/09/01 |
Qarabag 0-2 Dinamo Zagreb – 28/08/24 |
|
Tottenham 4-0 Everton – 24/08/24 |
Qarabag 0-1 Turan – 24/08/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Discovery+, discovery+ app, TNT Sports 1 |
|
united states |
Paramount+, ViX |
|
canada |
DAZN |
Postecoglou will make changes to the team he beat Brentford Saturday, and Tottenham the boss will have at least one eye on the next trip to Old Trafford.
Cristian Romero was sent off in Tottenham’s last European outing against Milan in 2023 and is therefore suspended for Thursday’s game. Radu Dragusin will be the Argentine’s replacement.
Wilson Odobert and Richarlison are injured for the hosts but Yves Bissouma is back in the fray. The Mali international came on as a substitute from the bench at the weekend.
Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray are close to entering Postecoglou’s XI.
Tottenham predicted line-up against Qarabag (4-3-3): Vicar; Gray, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bissouma, Bergvall, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Werner.
Center back Kevin Medina was sent off at the end of Qarabag’s Champions League play-off second leg against Dinamo Zagreb and is suspended for Thursday’s game.
Abbas Huseynov will likely replace Medina in the center of the visiting defence.
Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev is injured, while Amin Ramazanov is a long-term absentee after tearing his ACL.
Qarabag predicted line-up against Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Kochalsky; Silva, Mustafazade, Huseynov, Cafarguliyev; L. Andrade, Romao; P. Andrade, Benzia, Zoubir; Juninho
Qarabag showed in this competition last season that they are no slouch, and they came agonizingly close to the impressive Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16. However, sending Azerbaijani side Dinamo to the Champions League play-offs may suggest a possible relegation. this season
However, this will not be a piece of cake for Tottenham, who had struggled in the final third before three past Brentford at the weekend amid a remarkably fluid attacking display in which they were forced to play without the ball much more than in the previous one. departures
Qarabag are unlikely to come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and dominate, instead challenging their hosts to break them down. This could be a tricky tie for Postecoglou’s side, but they should be full of confidence after their win at the weekend.
