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Ange Postecoglou could lead Tottenham Hotspur into the quarter-final of the Europa League on Thursday night.
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Tottenham Hotspur must overturn a 1-0 defecit against AZ Alkmaar in North London tonight to stay in the running for silverware this season and progress to the quarter final of the Europa League.
When asked if the second leg was ‘crucial’ in Spurs’ season, Ange Postecoglou said: “There aren’t many professions in the world where you have to come in and answer questions like that, are there? No, there aren’t, but I am going to be polite and say we’re focused on winning the game tomorrow night and need to put in a better performance than we did last Thursday.
“Obviously that wasn’t anywhere near the standard we want to play. We did some good things at the weekend, did some not so good things, but we feel like if we can play with the intensity and tempo we played at the weekend, we’ll give ourselves a good chance to progress."
Who could Tottenham Hotspur play in the Europa League quarter final?
If Tottenham Hotspur overcome AZ Alkmaar they will face either Frankfurt or Ajax in the quarter final. The German outfit has the upper hand as it stands, taking a 2-1 win over their Dutch opponents into the second leg.
When the draw for the last 16 was made, the entire tournament was mapped out. It means that Spurs will also know by late on Thursday who their potential semi-final opponents could be - if they reach that point of the competition. It will be one of Olympiacos, Bodo/Glimt, Lazio or Viktoria Plzen - Bodo/Glimt and Lazio both take wins into their second leg round of 16 fixtures tonight.
The only other Premier League club left in the tournament is Manchester United. The Red Devils face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their round of 16 after a 1-1 draw last time out. Spurs could meet the Red Devils in the final but not before with the two top flight clubs in separate parts of the bracket.
Yves Bissouma and Lucas Bergvall risk suspension
Tottenham Hotspur midfielders Yves Bissouma and Lucas Bergvall could miss out on the Europa League quarter final, should Spurs get through, if shown a yellow card against AZ Alkmaar tonight. Both players have already received two each and Europa League rules state that any player with three yellows before the semi-final stages will receive a one match ban.
Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin are both also walking that tightrope with two yellow cards, but are out injured tonight. AZ Alkmaar have three players with two yellow cards and that is defender David Wolfe and midfielders Jordy Clasie and Peer Koopmeiners. Any player who picks up a third yellow card during a quarter final second leg will be banned for the first leg of a semi-final. A player can only be suspended for a final, however, if they are red carded during the semi-final second leg.
In other news, former Tottenham Hotspur star Peter Crouch has the internet in stitches this afternoon with a hilarious Cheltenham Festival joke live on TV.