Last week, I advocated for Tottenham Hotspur starting a strong lineup against a weakened Manchester City in the League Cup, imploring the team to take the competition seriously. Ange Postecoglou obliged for the most part, and after that important victory and Sunday’s dominance against Aston Villa, the arrows are once again all pointing up for Spurs.
That positivity extends to the Europa League, where Tottenham has won each of its first three fixtures and remains the (early) favorite to win it all. Despite all of these things, Thursday’s trip to Amsterdam seems like the right time to...ease off the gas for a second. Spurs have done well to build up a little cushion in Europe, and the long trip seems like the right time to rest some regulars. Galatasaray may very well cause the visitors to stumble, but that is a trade-off worth making at this moment.
Galatasaray (t-3rd, 7pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (t-1st, 9pts)
Date: Thursday, November 7
Time: 12:45 pm ET, 5:45 pm UK
Location: RAMS Park, Istanbul, Turkey
TV: Paramount+ (USA), TNT Sports 1 (UK)
Galatasaray has taken seven points from the first three League Phase matches, albeit against lesser competition. Both wins did come at home, though, and Opta ranks this as the 46th-best club in the world — on par with mid-table Premier League sides — meaning this is a legitimate opponent. Additionally, this is by far Spurs’ farthest trip from the first eight matches and comes as the sixth match out of seven in an important three-week span.
Tottenham has not faced Galatasaray previously, having only taken on one Turkish side: Besiktas. Spurs were victorious against Galatasaray’s local rival the in the Group Stage of the 2006/07 UEFA Cup, then went 0-1-1 against them in the Group Stage of the 2014/15 Europa League. Additionally, there are some recent connections with Thursday’s opponents, as Serge Aurier, Tanguy Ndombele, and Davinson Sanchez have all featured for Galatasaray since leaving Spurs; fortunately, only the latter will be amongst the opposition this week.
Ever elusive
Despite very strong recent form, Spurs have kept just one clean sheet in the last seven, coming in the previous Europa League contest against AZ Alkmaar. Even though the defense rarely concedes more than once, having a mistake-free match is far too difficult to come by. Now, the squad hits the road again — where it performs markedly worse — to face a side that has scored nine goals in the League Phase already.
While rotation is the right move anyway, Postecoglou’s hand is forced at the centerback position with both Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero dealing with injuries. The Ben Davies-Radu Dragusin pairing held up against Villa, and Archie Gray has performed solidly across multiple positions, but the back line will be tested again in a tough road contest. Regardless of who plays in front of them, the defenders will be the key to this fixture. For Tottenham to continue its campaign across multiple fronts, CB3 and CB4 cannot be liabilities.