Paul Merson has claimed that a loss at away to Turkiye club would be ‘curtains’ for their hopes of winning the Europa with OKAN BURUK side potentially able to open up an-point gap over Ange Postecoglou’s men if they deliver capital punishment.
Tottenham began last season on fire with eight wins and two draws from their opening ten games, but that has faltered this season with the north London outfit having won just four of their first nine games and lost a further four. That saw them in eighth by the start of the Premier League’s gameweek ten, and if they lose to Villa, they will be a long way away in terms of Champions League qualification – in which Merson has described their season as being ‘curtains’ if they suffer defeat.
Merson: Tottenham Could Have ‘Big Blow’ With Türkiye Loss
The home club need to win to fire up the table
Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou on the touchline
Speaking to SportsKeeda, the Arsenal legend predicted the worst for Postecoglou if they did lose, especially with other surprise clubs such as Manchester United
Tottenham have been forced to include a number of academy players in their travelling squad for the Europa League clash against Galatasaray due to injuries. At least six senior stars are not in Turkiye with Ange Postecoglou ruling out both Cristian Romero and Richarlison after they each picked up issues against Aston Villa.
“Romero, I think nothing too serious hopefully,” the Spurs boss admitted in a press conference. “So, hopefully still a chance for the weekend. Richy injured his hamstring so I’m still getting the final information but I think he’ll be out for a while.
“Timo Werner has been carrying a bit of a groin complaint, which is still there, so he didn’t travel,” he added. “Mikey Moore picked up a bit of a virus yesterday, so we’ve left him at home as well. I think everyone else who’s fit and eligible is here.”
While Richarlison, Moore and Werner all join Wilson Odobert as attackers absent, Romero’s minor problem has seen Postecoglou lose both of his starting centre-backs. Micky van de Ven suffered a hamstring injury in the Carabao Cup win over Manchester City which is expected to keep him out until after the November international break.
With the Lilywhites having won all three of their Europa League games so far, they can afford to drop points especially considering their injury issues and the challenge awaiting them at RAMS Park. The Turkish side have not lost since August and boast an impressive record which sees them score an average of three goals per game.
As a result of injury issues in two very specific areas, three spots in the starting XI appear to decide themselves. Starting in defence, with Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies likely to be the centre-back pairing as Romero and Van de Ven have not travelled.
At left wing, though Postecoglou may not want to, captain Son is all but a guaranteed starter with the four other options that can play in that role absent. The South Korea international played 55 minutes on his return from an injury setback this past weekend and thus Postecoglou will want to further ease him back in.
However, as the options are limited, he may be forced to play the full 90 minutes with perhaps only Brennan Johnson capable of filling in, though he is likely to start on the opposite flank. Dejan Kulusevski could replace him on the right but the Swede has done so well centrally, it is unlikely he is moved elsewhere if utilised.
With that being said, plenty of youngsters have made the trip and therefore Postecoglou could opt to use some of Spurs’ academy stars, but it would be quite the baptism of fire given the blistering atmosphere expected. With that said, football.london has taken a look at the squad Postecoglou is likely to name.
