Postecoglou expected to start strong side for Europa League opener: Predicted Tottenham line-up vs Qarabag

Tottenham Hotspur host Azerbaijan side Qarabag FK on Thursday in their opening Europa League fixture, looking to build on their run of two wins in all competitions.

Spurs fans were shell-shocked by their toothless loss to rivals Arsenal in the Premier League, but they bounced back from 1-0 down to clinch a win over Coventry City in the third round of the League Cup.

Ange Postecoglou’s side then defeated Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They now turn their attention to the Europa League.

Postecoglou recently claimed he always delivers trophies in his second season. He knows the cups are his best chance of winning the first piece of silverware for Tottenham since 2008.

The team must start this Europa League campaign with a resounding win to ease fan nerves and set themselves up to make a deep run in the tournament.

Postecoglou has plenty of positives from which he can draw confidence. Tottenham’s attacking force finally looked on the same page during the win over Brentford.

James Maddison was on fire against the Bees, scoring one and creating another big chance. Dominic Solanke opened his Spurs account while Brennan Johnson scored for the second consecutive game.

Spurs have a 100 percent win ratio against the Azerbaijan Premier League side. They met in the 2015/16 Europa League in Group J.

Qarabag quickly took the lead in London, but a brace from Heung-min Son and a late Erik Lamela strike helped Spurs claim victory.

Spurs also won the second leg, with Harry Kane bagging a 78th-minute winner created by Son. The two-time UEFA Cup winners will be eager to make it a treble of victories over their Azerbaijani counterparts.

They will be without Cristian Romero, who received a red card in the Champions League against AC Milan 18 months ago. Attackers Richarlison and Wilson Odobert are also sidelined with injuries.

Yves Bissouma appeared off the bench during the Brentford win. He could start the game against Qarabag.

Tottenham will be desperate to begin their European campaign with a strong result and are not expected to change much from the side that beat Brentford.

Predicted Tottenham Starting Line-up vs Qarabag

(4-3-3-): Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Micky Van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie; James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma; Heung-min Son, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson.