European football is back on the calendar for Tottenham this week as they travel to Germany to face Hoffenheim in the Europa League. On the losing side on Sunday following a dismal showing at Everton, Ange Postecoglou has to record a positive result at the PreZero Arena or else the pressure on his shoulders will only increase to new levels.

Hoffenheim have also had their struggles of late but the Bundesliga club did manage to record a 3-1 win away at Holstein Kiel on Saturday. Tottenham are in a decent position to secure a top-eight finish in the Europa League table but they cannot afford to drop points on Thursday night to leave their qualification hopes up in the air going into the final round of games.

So how exactly should Spurs line up against Hoffenheim in Thursday's 5.45pm kick-off? football.london's Tottenham writers have had their say below.

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Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent

Postecoglou's options shrink from game to game and this time he can't call upon Antonin Kinsky, Djed Spence, Sergio Reguilon or Yang Min-hyeok as none are registered in that problematic Europa League squad.

He will hopefully have Rodrigo Bentancur back as some fresh legs in the centre of the pitch if the Uruguayan passes all the requisite checks after going through the concussion protocol.

It's time to hand Richarlison and Mikey Moore a start as both made an impact against Everton and both attackers can cause problems to any defence with their direct play. If the duo do come in then Postecoglou will have to decide on a couple of players dropping to the bench to give him someone to introduce in the second half.

Lucas Bergvall has been one of Spurs' better players in recent games but could need a rest after playing so much football in quick succession.

Another 18-year-old, Archie Gray, is in the same boat but will have to switch to a left-back role and Brandon Austin could get the nod ahead of Fraser Forster, who returned to training late last week.

Gold's team: Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison; Moore, Richarlison, Son.

Rob Guest - Football writer

Ange Postecoglou has even less players to choose from for the Hoffenheim game but he must find a winning formula to get Tottenham's season back on track. Starting in goal, Brandon Austin should be given his opportunity between the sticks as Antonin Kinsky is not available for selection in Europe at present.

Defence pretty much picks itself as Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Archie Gray start the game in Germany. Having played as a centre-back over the past month, Gray switches to left-back as Djed Spence is ineligible in Europe.

Rodrigo Bentancur will hopefully be fit enough to return, with the Uruguayan coming straight into the team if he's in a position to do so. Amid James Maddison's struggles at Everton, Spurs still require creativity in the middle and that means he keeps his place and Pape Matar Sarr drops out of the team as a result.

Son Heung-min should also take his place on the bench as he is not offering enough in attack at present. Mikey Moore possesses an X-factor and has all the qualities to spark Spurs into life, meaning he starts in Son's position on the left.

Richarlison also looks to be in a position to start following two cameo appearances off the bench to boost his fitness levels. Due to the team's woes at present, the Brazilian's fight and battling qualities are required to try and help Spurs get out of their current rut.

Guest's team: Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Bergvall, Bentancur, Maddison; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Moore.

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