- Oct 17, 2006
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SPURS 3-0 LASK
Lucas, Andrade (og), Son
Lucas, Andrade (og), Son
Spurs: Hart, Doherty, Sanchez, Davies (C), Reguilon, Hojbjerg (Sissoko), Winks, Lamela (Dele) Bergwijn, Bale (Son), Lucas (Lo Celso), Vinicius (Clarke).
Subs: Lloris, Austin, Aurier, Alderweireld, Ndombele, Kane
LASK: Schlager, Wiesinger, Trauner (c), Andrade, Ranftl, Holland, Michorl, Renner, Gruber, Raguz, Balic.
Subs: Lawal, Gebauer, Filipovic, Eggestein, Ramsebner, Potzmann, Madsen, Cheberko, Goiginger, Grgic.
Official Site Match Centre
Eight changes from the team that played West Ham on Sunday, with only Sanchez, Reguilon and Hojbjerg keeping their places in the starting XI. There's a debut for striker Carlos Vinicius from the start, while Gareth Bale also makes his first start since returning to us on loan from Real Madrid.
UEFA rules allow for 12 subs to be named tonight, with five available to be used over a maximum of three stoppages in play. Substitutions made during half-time do not reduce the number of stoppages in play that can be used.
TEAM FORM: - Spurs DWWWD ---- Lask - WLWWW ------- (All Competitions)
Whether it was complacency or, as Jose saw it, a case of one of those things, our late collapse against West Ham will take a long time to fully get over.
For the best part of an hour we were at our brilliant best, with kane assisting one and scoring two as he showed yet again why he is one of the world's best players.
A point is all we have to show for it, though, giving us a rather mixed return of eight points from our first five Premier League games. Throw a 6-1 triumph away at Manchester United into the mix, however, plus a quarter-final spot in the EFL Cup, and it is easy to see why many are getting excited. The aim for Jose this season is ultimately to win a trophy, and in the Europa League he has a realistic shot of achieving that.
We have suffered a surprise last-32 defeat at the hands of Gent last time around, but we have successfully navigated the group stage in our last four attempts.
That is expected to be the case this time around, having been placed in a group that contains LASK, Ludogorets Razgrad and Royal Antwerp - hardly the biggest of hitters. Jose will be hoping for the safest passage possible through to the knockout stages, while at the same time attempting to juggle the onslaught of domestic fixtures.
With trips to Burnley and Antwerp to come in the next week, closely followed by the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion, rotation is going to be key for our outfit.
That is something opponents LASK will be looking to take full advantage of, with the Austrian side themselves having aspirations of making it to at least the last 32.
The Black-Whites boast good Europa League credentials, too, finishing top of a group containing Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven and Rosenborg last season.
However, they went on to suffer a 7-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester United in the last 16 - their only previous meeting with an English club. We have a little more experience of facing Austrian sides, meanwhile, having defeated SV Stockerau twice and FK Austria Wien once in our previous four such encounters. Another win for us will go a long way to putting the West Ham result behind us, although as ever with the Lilywhites you can never be certain of what is around the corner.
Bale was brought on as a second-half substitute against West Ham for his second debut and may be handed a full start here, fitness depending.
However, fellow Welshman Joe Rodon joined on domestic deadline day last week but was not registered in time to be eligible for the Europa League group phase.
Jose will undoubtedly make changes, even if our side have a four-day rest before facing Burnley, which will mean Dele, Lucas and Winks coming into contention. Vinicius is another pushing for a first start since arriving, but there are question marks over the fitness of Dier after he missed the West Ham game.
As for the visitors, they eased to a 3-0 domestic cup win over Worgl at the weekend and will field their strongest available XI on Thursday. Mark Raguz has scored five goals in six appearances this season, three of those coming in the qualifying phase of the Europa League as LASK saw off DAC Dunajksa Streda and Sporting Lisbon.
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