Europa League Preview: Spurs on Their Way to Wembley

Not to worry, we’ll thump them at The Lane!

That was my short-lived rationale after the downfall in East Flanders last week, before my brain caught up to speed and remembered the hard truth. But of course, Spurs are at Wembley, aren’t they? Alice doesn’t live here anymore.

That all important home advantage, so crucial in tight two-legged affairs, has vanished. For Gent, the motivation of playing in one of the sport’s most renowned venues. For the hosts, another experiment to discover whether a load of Englishmen, dressed in white, playing at Wembley, will automatically be reduced to a wibbling mess of poor first touches and panic.

So far, barring a routine victory over CSKA Moscow, the results have been conclusive.

Still, the good news from the trenches is that it’s another sell-out. The official site confirmed on Wednesday morning that 85,000-odd would be piling through the gates on Thursday night, keeping up traditions from the Champions League group stage, where every tie was a hit at the box-office. Those £5 tickets for members have gone down a treat.

Back to the football, and Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated his desire for cup success this season, presumably egged on by the apparent futility of trying to catch Chelsea in the League and recent FA Cup progress.

The players have noticed a recalibrating of priorities, too. Here’s Jan Vertonghen talking after the victory at Craven Cottage last weekend:

“He [Pochettino] understands the importance of the Europa League and FA Cup. It’s good that we take it very seriously”

“I won silverware at Ajax and it’s the best thing there is in football.”

While there’s not too much we can learn from the Ambitious Player Wants to Win Trophies shocker, it is encouraging that Pochettino seems to appreciate that there’s more to life than profit-driven League finishes and zero net spends. Neither of which will be etched into the Honours section of his Wikipedia page. The game is about glory, as every good Spurs fan ought to know, but might understandably forget from time to time:

So, then. A team to reflect our unwavering ambition.

With Vertonghen back in the fold, there might be the temptation to revert to the 3-5-2 formation that aided Spurs’ post-Christmas boom. Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker and Mousa Dembélé were given last weekend off so will be expected to feature against the Belgians, with Michel Vorm, Kieran Trippier and Harry Winks stepping aside.

Here’s how we might line up: Lloris, Walker, Davies, Dier, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Wanyama, Dembélé, Alli, Eriksen, Kane Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Sissoko, Winks, N’Koudou, Son, Janssen