Premier League giants Tottenham will be looking to qualify for this season’s edition of the UEFA Europa League when they welcome Israeli league leaders Maccabi Haifa to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Thursday. This European clash is Spurs’ third fixture within the space of a week, with a fourth one scheduled for the upcoming weekend as well. Despite the fatigue that’s sure to be running through the squad, the win against Chelsea on Tuesday would’ve come as a massive boost to their morale going into this tough week.
Spurs’ last league game against Newcastle United finished 1-1 after ninety minutes, but they more than made up for it with a London derby victory in the Carabao Cup. Despite the Blues opening the scoring through Timo Werner, Mourinho’s men fought back in the second period and found an equaliser through Erik Lamela. After forcing the tie to a penalty shootout, all the Tottenham players kept their nerve to dispatch the spot-kicks in style. A win on Thursday would see them qualify into the group stage of this season’s Europa League.
Team News
Mourinho’s press conference after the Chelsea game provided a lot of clarity about his team’s current predicament. Heung-Min Som remains sidelined with a knock, as the manager confirmed that he’s unlikely to return until after the international break. Erik Lamela and Eric Dier were two of Spurs’ most influential players in the win against Chelsea, and Mourinho has clarified that neither will play any part in the European encounter on Thursday. Harry Kane was another player who started the Carabao Cup tie on the bench and is hence likely to return to the eleven for this clash.
Here Is The Predicted 4-3-3 Tottenham Hotspur Lineup Vs Maccabi Haifa:
Predicted 4-3-3 Tottenham Hotspur Lineup Vs Maccabi Haifa
Defence
Hugo Lloris ended up being Tottenham’s penalty shootout hero on Tuesday after his fingertip save to deny Mount’s effort ended the fixture in a Spurs win. The skipper is likely to retain his place in between the sticks on Thursday as well. In front of him, with Eric Dier now ruled out of contention, expect to see Toby Alderweireld continuing in the heart of the defence. Davinson Sanchez should be the player that starts alongside the Belgian veteran for Mourinho’s side. Matt Doherty and Ben Davies are both expected to make their returns to the starting eleven for this fixture too.
Midfield
Midfield is one area of the pitch where Mourinho is likely to ring in the changes for the Europa League clash. Tanguy Ndombele, Gedson Fernandes and Moussa Sissoko are the three players who started against Chelsea, and none of them are expected to line up on Thursday. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was used as a substitute in the Chelsea win, but he’s likely to return to the starting eleven, alongside English starlet Harry Winks. Giovani Lo Celso is another player who could be thrown into the mix by Mourinho, as the gaffer looks to assert their dominance over the Israeli outfit.
Attack
Having given Harry Kane a deserved rest against Chelsea, the English international is undoubtedly going to return to the lineup on Thursday. Erik Lamela, who was the star of the show against the Blues, has been ruled out of contention for this match as well. This means that Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn are the only other options that Mourinho has to choose from. Although both of them played large parts in Tuesday’s win, the lack of depth is sure to force the manager into playing his hand on them once again this midweek.
