Tottenham Hotspur will travel to Budapest this Thursday to take on Hungarian league champions Ferencvaros in their second Europa League fixture.
Spurs recorded a 3-0 win over Qarabag FK in their opening gmae. Despite losing Radu Dragusin to an early red card, Ange Postecoglou’s side claimed a thrilling victory.
They followed it up with another resounding 3-0 win over the weekend against Manchester United, thumping the Premier League heavyweights in a delicious display.
Postecoglou will now focus on the Europa League clash against a tricky opponent that remains undefeated domestically.
However, Ferencvaros have stuttered in Europe, crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers following a loss to Midtjylland.
They also opened their Europa League campaign with a defeat to Anderlecht, and Spurs will back their chances of claiming victory on enemy soil.
A second win would put Spurs in a superb position to finish in the coveted top-eight spot in the new league format adopted by UEFA for European games.
Tottenham are fifth in the table, and another win could push them even higher.
Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, and James Maddison are firing on all cylinders. However, Postecoglou must consider resting some key players for this game against Ferencvaros.
Defender Micky Van de Ven could miss the game. He is notoriously injury-prone, and Postecoglou must manage his workload.
The Australian took off Van de Ven early against Man United and admitted that he played more minutes than they’d have liked him to, especially after the draining Qarabag game.
Postecoglou might consider giving the Dutchman a rest for the Europa League clash after his spectacular effort in the win over Man United.
Van de Ven dashed across 56.1 metres to set up Johnson’s opener with 155 seconds on the clock. Gary Neville described the run as absolutely incredible.
Postecoglou will welcome Cristian Romero back into the XI. He missed the Qarabag game through suspension and could partner Ben Davies in central defence.#
With Destiny Udogie carrying a knock from the United game, Djed Spence may deputise at left-back.
Yves Bissouma will likely return to the starting line-up despite his erratic outing against Qarabag, but Spurs continue to sweat over the fitness of captain Heung-min Son.
Predicted Tottenham XI vs Ferencvaros
Guglielmo Vicario; Archie Gray, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, Djed Spence; Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall; Timo Werner, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson.
