Tottenham Hotspur are still very much in their Europa League quarter-final tie with Eintracht Frankfurt, drawing the first leg 1-1.
It sets up the second leg next week in Germany nicely indeed. A win for Ange Postecoglou’s men and they will reach their first European semi since 2019.
One important thing for the manager is he can rest some players this weekend ahead of the game. Spurs have nothing to aim for domestically, which means a few changes will be made for their visit to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.
Several first-team stars could be rested and Heung-min Son should be one who is given a breather after his display in midweek.
How Heung-min Son performed against Eintracht Frankfurt
The South Korean dynamo was deployed on the left wing against the Bundesliga side, but he didn’t quite have his finest game of the season.
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He made two key passes, had two shots on goal, delivered three crosses and completed 86% of his passes during his spell on the pitch.
Journalist Alasdair Gold of football.london gave the player a match rating of just 5/10 for his display and perhaps a rest this weekend will do him the world of good ahead of the second leg.
The question is, who comes in for the former Bayer Leverkusen star against the Old Gold today? As Postecoglou looks set to shuffle his pack.
Could this see a January signing come back into the starting XI for just the fifth time in the Premier League since he arrived at the club?
How Spurs can replace Son vs Wolves
Mathys Tel joined the North Londoners on a six-month loan deal during the winter transfer window, notching two goals in ten games for the club so far.
The youngster was hailed by analyst Ben Mattinson in 2023, who described him as a “deadly finisher with the leadership/personality to deliver in big moments”, having scored ten times in 2023/24 for Bayern Munich.
He hasn’t quite lived up to this ‘deadly’ moniker this term, but he does offer plenty of qualities that could come in handy against Wolves.
|
Mathys Tel’s Premier League stats for Spurs |
|
|---|---|
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
Shots per game |
1.8 |
|
Key passes per game |
0.5 |
|
Total duels won per game |
1.5 |
|
Via Sofascore |
|
Indeed, when compared to his positional peers across Europe’s big five leagues over the previous 365 days, Tel ranks in the top 8% for progressive carries (2.87) and in the top 6% for successful take-ons (1.79) per 90, proving he can be a big influence in the final third.
Bringing him into the starting XI could give him a chance to follow up on the goal he scored against Southampton last week in the Premier League, that’s for sure.
Resting the important players ahead of the second leg will be crucial for the manager. In Tel, he has someone ready to step in when required and is more than capable of performing well.
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