It is the start of another big week for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham as they look to make it a successful end to the 2024/25 campaign. Returning to action against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday evening, Spurs then host Bournemouth at home on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
The Tottenham squad should certainly be relatively fresh going into the game after not having to contend with a packed schedule over the past fortnight. football.london reported at the weekend that the Tottenham players will reconvene at their Hotspur Way base on Tuesday after the boss elected to give them Sunday and Monday off to recharge their batteries.
Once they are all back together on the training ground once again, Postecoglou and his coaching staff have plenty on their to-do list as they plan ahead of the AZ game. football.london takes a look at four items on the Australian's agenda prior to departing for the Netherlands.
Devise AZ plan
Tottenham were made to pay for a slow start against Manchester City last time out after failing to lay a glove on Pep Guardiola's side in the opening 45 minutes. The Lilywhites were rather fortunate to only be one goal down after seeing City pass up chance after chance in the first half.
Tottenham cannot afford to do the same against AZ this Thursday and Postecoglou needs a 90-minute performance from his side in the Netherlands. AZ have not lost on home soil in the Europa League this campaign, notably beating Roma 1-0 and hitting Galatasaray for four at the AFAS Stadion.
Their 4-1 home win over the Turkish side in the middle of February highlights just what they can do against decent sides in Europe, which in turn should serve as a warning to Tottenham. Postecoglou needs to devise a plan that can see his team return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next Thursday holding an advantage going into the crucial second leg.
Romero and Van de Ven fitness
There is a possibility that Tottenham could be handed an injury boost going into the AZ encounter. Long-term absentees Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are closing in on a return, with Richarlison and Dominic Solanke hopefully also returning very soon.
Speaking ahead of last week's home fixture against Manchester City, Postecoglou revealed that his injured quartet could return in the "next seven to 10 days".
“They are all tracking really well, all similar times, hopefully in the next seven to 10 days," he told SPURSPLAY. "A couple of them are already training but, over that period, we’ll start incorporating them back into matchday squads."
On possible returns for the players in question against AZ Alkmaar, he added: “Yes, potentially. I’m not sure if they’ll participate in that, but the idea is that at least a couple of them should be back in training and available for that game.
"Obviously, we have to back that up on the weekend (after) against Bournemouth (March 9), so, with two games, I’m hoping if we can get a couple more back, it means again we can tackle those two games with a strong squad.”
Amid those comments from Postecoglou, the next few days could be huge for Tottenham in terms of possibly seeing Romero, Van de Ven, Richarlison and Solanke return to the matchday squad. The Australian and his coaching staff will be keeping a very close eye on them in training this week and then deciding if they can be included in the squad against AZ and possibly even feature in the match.
If not, it could be on Sunday against Bournemouth when they make their comeback. The hope will be that Ben Davies will also be in a position to return after not making the matchday party in the past two fixtures.
The Welshman will have benefitted from an eight-day break between games and his possible return will give Postecoglou choice at centre-back if he wants to tinker with this team.
Decide on full-backs
One of Postecoglou's biggest decisions will come in the full-back areas as he has Djed Spence, Porro Porro and Destiny Udogie available for selection. Spence was previously not part of the Tottenham squad for the Europa League league phase but he has come in for the knockout stage onwards after producing some incredible performances in the Premier League and domestic cup competitions this season.
The ex-Nottingham Forest loanee was on the bench against Manchester City last week and will likely come back into the Tottenham side to take on AZ. That will then leave Postecoglou with a decision to make between Porro and Udogie in regards to a starting spot.
Porro was named on the bench in the recent win at Ipswich Town, meaning it could be Udogie who drops out this time and Spence operates from left-back.
Front three selection
The head coach must also decide on his front three to take on AZ after rotating in the position last week. His decision to give Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski a rest was certainly a talking point before and after the Manchester City defeat.
Wilson Odobert was one of the players to come into the side and the Frenchman did impress with a bright showing in the second half prior to coming off. Timo Werner, who came on as a late substitute in the game, is not available to feature, though, after his omission from the Europa League squad for the second stage of the competition.
Boasting players such as Mathys Tel, Brennan Johnson, Mikey Moore, Dane Scarlett Son, Kulusevski and Odobert as attacking options at present, Postecoglou needs to find the perfect trio to down AZ and give Spurs an advantage going into the return leg.
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