Match Threads Antwerp vs Spurs - Match Thread - Europa League - Game 2

Spurs: Lloris (C), Aurier, Sanchez, Davies, Reguilon, Winks, Dele (Lamela), Lo Celso (Hojbjerg), Bergwijn (Lucas), Bale (Kane), Vinicius (Son).
Subs: Hart, Doherty, Alderweireld, Cirkin, Clarke, White, Sissoko.

Antwerp: Butez, De Laet, Gelin, Seck, Miyoshi, Hongla, Haroun (C), Juklerod, Refaelov, Gerkens, Mbokani.
Subs: Beiranvand, Verstraete, Boya, Ampomah, Benavente, Buta.

Official Site Match Centre
Nine changes to the team that beat Burnley on Monday, with Hugo Lloris and Ben Davies the only players to start again. Dele makes his first start since KF Shkendija on 24 September. Gio Lo Celso last started against Macabbi Haifa on 1 October. Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius also start after making their full debuts against LASK last week.



TEAM FORM: - Antwerp - WWWWW ----- Spurs - WWDWW ----- (All competitions)

Antwerp welcome us to the Bosuilstadion in Antwerp, Belgium for the Uefa Europa League fixture on Thursday night. In match day two of the competition, the top two teams from Group J will go head-to-head in order to consolidate our grip on the top spot. Both of us won our opening fixtures by a margin of 2-1 and 3-0 against Ludogorets and LASK respectively. Both of us are also heading into the continental competition in fine form and are unbeaten in our last seven fixtures, so this matchup between us should make for an interesting and entertaining encounter.

The game at the Bosuilstadion will be the very first meeting between us in European competition. Royal Antwerp have faced English opposition on two previous occasions and ended up losing both games. We are winless on our travels to face Belgian opponents but, given our form, we expect to change that with a win in this game.

For Royal Antwerp, there is some good and bad news. The good news is that Coach Ivan Leko welcomes back defenders Jordan Lukaku and Abdoulaye Seck, as they both tested negative for COVID-19 in their latest round of testing and are allowed to resume training. The bad news for them is that two other players have since tested positive, namely, Dylan Batubinsika and Manuel Benson. Bruny Nsimba will be out of the game due to an adductor injury. There are no suspension concerns for the Belgian club heading into the fixture.

We have struggled with only minor injury concerns since the start of the season and do not have any serious concerns heading into the fixture.
As per the latest reports, only Japhet Tanganga and Eric Dier are out of the game, but we expect to see some changes in the starting XI from our win over Burnley.
We expect Bale to start, as he was on the bench against Burnley alongside striker Carlos Vinicius. Our side look like the clear favorites in this game given out form and Jose's immaculate record in the competition. He is unbeaten in his last 15 matches in the UEFA Europa League.

Kane and Son are in red-hot form at the moment and are combining wonderfully in front of the goal. That combination is capable of making an impact even if they make an appearance from the bench, which seems likely. Antwerp should not be underestimated. They are on a five-game winning streak and can cause problems for us, especially if we show any kind of weakness in defence. But Mourinho will be mindful of this and will prepare us well, leading to an away victory for us in this game.

Banner courtesy of @chrissivad

I hope we don’t make Antwerps of ourselves.

Excited to see Vinicius and Bale start again.

The Europa League isn't so bad if you've got a good and big squad.

GLC and Stevie also need minutes, as do the other fbs

Can we find a way to rest PEH?

cliff jones said:

GLC and Stevie also need minutes, as do the other fbs

Can we find a way to rest PEH?

Click to expand...

Could Harvey White step up?
I don't know much on him, but Jose has mentioned him a couple of time since he joined. Not sure if he is ready thought

It's actually a nice change of pace the Europa League, allows us to try out different players/keep the squad fresh. Obviously the games are nowhere near the level of Champions League but hopefully we get back to that next season and make the most of our chance in this competition this season.

Don't want Kane or Son anywhere near this one, not even on the bench. Fully rested for Sunday, need that home win.

cliff jones said:

GLC and Stevie also need minutes, as do the other fbs

Can we find a way to rest PEH?

Click to expand...

Of course and I hope we do. No need for Harvey White or any youth player. Winks is a definite starter and then we have Lo Celso, Ndombele, Dele or in bad cases Dier or Sissoko to pair him.
Probably not a solution for the Premier League, but surely enough to keep control of Antwerp.

chrissivad said:

Could Harvey White step up?
I don't know much on him, but Jose has mentioned him a couple of time since he joined. Not sure if he is ready thought

Click to expand...

I think LoCelso and Winks will play behind Dele in a 4213 setup. At least, that's what I'd do.

Japhet said:

I think LoCelso and Winks will play behind Dele in a 4213 setup. At least, that's what I'd do.

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I agree about Winks and Lo Celso, just thought White might be a better back up for Hojbjerg while Skipp is on loan.

Really enjoying the Europa League games so far. Would love to see Bale and Vinicius score this week and another clean sheet for Hart!

For once, a ridiculously easy European travel fixture. The most arduous part of the trip will be the bus ride from Enfield to the airport. Royal Antwerp stadium is only 5km from Antwerp airport. Burnley was harder to get to.

Terima kasih for the thread @Bulletspur

I'm going to thank you in as many different languages as I can think of this season. See which runs out first games or languages! That one was Indonesian.

I think this match may offer some challenge. I know it's 'only' Antwerp, but we have to remain focused. Do what Jose does (or says he does, anyway) focus totally on this one match.

chrissivad said:

I agree about Winks and Lo Celso, just thought White might be a better back up for Hojbjerg while Skipp is on loan.

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Could be. I always thought he was more of an 8 than a 6 though but haven't seen enough of him to know.

GLC, Dele, Bale, Vinicius and Bergwing, hard to believe that it is the substitute team.

carpediem991 said:

Of course and I hope we do. No need for Harvey White or any youth player. Winks is a definite starter and then we have Lo Celso, Ndombele, Dele or in bad cases Dier or Sissoko to pair him.
Probably not a solution for the Premier League, but surely enough to keep control of Antwerp.

Click to expand...

I think we should rest Ndombele for this one, we should have enough to win this without him

As someone just said, the squad is so deep in quality that playing two games per week in the both the Premier and Europa league, it does not feel as pressurised, so we can actually enjoy each game while getting the desired results. Saying that, Antwerp will not be push overs.

Danger of underestimating this game. Even a more limited team like Antwerp will be dangerous on a (I think) 5 game winning streak. No need to risk the A team, but we'd be foolish not to have them in the squad and ready to play.

Predict a win, but a tougher game than LASK.

In news we all pretty much expected, Bale starts tomorrow:

Once again, free on TV in the US on UniMas (DirecTV 408), if you don't mind Spanish commentary. Match coverage starts 1:30pm EDT.

@Bulletspur - Go raibh maith agat !
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Can't keep up with the pace, thought I had already stuck my head round the door into this thread.
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Anyway.. A tidy win please. Keeping things nice and fresh for the Sunday night extravaganza !

@rez9000 and @TheChosenOne I know what I want for Christmas..... An International pocket book translator!!!