Importance Score: 20 / 100 🔵
Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, Europa League Quarter-Final First Leg
Ahead of the Europa League quarter-final first leg, Tottenham Hotspur prepares to face Eintracht Frankfurt in a highly anticipated match. While neither team is currently at the zenith of their respective domestic leagues, this encounter promises to be captivating. Tottenham, grappling with what manager Ange Postecoglou has described as “glass-half-empty rhetoric” amidst inconsistent league form, welcomes an Eintracht Frankfurt side known for resilience. Frankfurt’s season began strongly but has seen fluctuating results recently. Despite current form, both teams recognize that triumph in the Europa League offers a significant reward: a Champions League berth and a turnaround to their season’s narrative.
Postecoglou addressed the challenges and aspirations, stating, “Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle. Certainly, everything I have achieved in my life has come with a struggle from a professional perspective.” He further emphasized his “burning ambition, desire and determination” to secure the Europa League trophy. “This is just another struggle, but never through this struggle have I lost the will to fight for what I think is the right thing to do and I’ll continue to do that.”
Acknowledging external perceptions, Postecoglou mentioned what he termed an “alternate universe [where] everything Tottenham does is negative.” While acknowledging their current 14th league position, he highlighted the transformative potential of a Europa League victory. The manager expressed hope that the high stakes would inject urgency into the team’s performance, noting, “in football desperation can make things quite fun quite quickly.”
Welcome to our live coverage of this Europa League quarter-final!
Confirmed Team Lineups
The starting lineups for tonight’s Europa League quarter-final first leg are as follows:
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Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bergvall, Bentancur, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Substitutes: Austin, Whiteman, Bissouma, Richarlison, Tel, Gray, Spence, Odobert, Sarr, Davies, Moore.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Santos, Kristensen, Koch, Theate, Brown, Skhiri, Tuta, Gotze, Larsson, Bahoya, Ekitike.
Substitutes: Grahl, Siljevic, Amenda, Chaibi, Wahi, Dahoud, Uzun, Chandler, Nkounkou, Batshuayi, Collins, Fenyo.
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland).
Frankfurt manager Dino Toppmöller spoke about the influence of his father, Klaus Toppmöller, stating, “The way he’s thinking football, the way he was playing football with his teams. I’m very proud of him.” Dino’s name is a tribute to legendary Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff.
Player disciplinary situation: Several players are at risk of suspension for the second leg if they receive a yellow card tonight. For Eintracht Frankfurt, these include key attacker Hugo Ekitike, captain Robin Koch, and midfielder Eliyes Skhiri, along with substitute Niels Nkounkou. Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall and substitute Yves Bissouma are in a similar position.
The players are now entering the pitch tunnel. Kick-off is just moments away, approximately within the next three minutes.
Tottenham Hotspur has won the coin toss before the match. It appears they have opted to kick off the proceedings.
Correction: Eintracht Frankfurt will kick-off the match.
The match is underway as Eintracht Frankfurt gets the game started.
In other Europa Conference League news, Chelsea secured a comfortable away victory in their quarter-final first leg match. For a detailed match report, please see the link below:
4 mins: An energetic opening few minutes to this Europa League clash. Tottenham have now adopted a more measured approach, maintaining possession to control the tempo after a frantic start.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (Ekitike, 6 mins)
Ekitike scores an early goal with exceptional attacking play! Despite Tottenham knowing Ekitike’s tendency to attack from the left flank, they were unable to prevent him. He skillfully evaded Porro, cutting inside from the left wing and unleashing a precise, low drive from approximately 25 yards that found the far corner of the net, giving Frankfurt the lead.