Tottenham Hotspur is still chasing their first major trophy in official competitions, and the Europa League offers a great chance for them to finally achieve that. However, their start to the Premier League this season hasn’t been ideal, with only one win from their first four matches.
That victory came in a 4-0 win at home against Everton, but it was followed by two back-to-back losses—2-1 against Newcastle at St. James’ Park and a 1-0 defeat in the North London derby against Arsenal. Last week, Spurs also faced Coventry in the EFL Cup before taking on Brentford in the Premier League over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Qarabag came close to reaching the Champions League group stages but fell short in the final play-off against Dinamo Zagreb, suffering a 3-0 loss in Croatia and a 2-0 defeat at home.
Despite this setback, Qarabag has established itself as a regular name in European football, frequently competing in qualifiers and group stages of different tournaments. Domestically, they’ve been in solid form, recently recording wins against Zira (3-1 away) and Sabail (2-1 at home) ahead of their clash with Neftci Baku.
Tottenham could be without key players, including Malian international Yves Bissouma, who has impressed with two goals in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and another in the Premier League, but is expected to miss out due to injury.
Richarlison is also unavailable. However, Spurs will look to rely on Son Heung-min (with 2 Premier League goals this season) and James Maddison (2 assists in PL) to lead their attack. In defense, Udogie, van de Ven, Romero, and Porro are expected to form a strong backline.
For Qarabag, while some selections remain uncertain, key contributors from the qualifying rounds are likely to feature.
These include Brazilian striker Juninho (6 goals), Algerian international Yassine Benzia (3 goals in the Champions League qualifiers), Cape Verdean international Andrade, Bayramov (who scored 10 goals in the league last season), and French winger Abdellah Zoubir (2 league goals this season), who joined the club from Lens in 2018.
Prediction
Tottenham has struggled at home in the Europa League, securing just four wins in their last 18 games, with several defeats in their previous 10 matches. Qarabag, however, has shown solid form on the road, winning eight of their last 14 away games at this level.
Prediction: Tottenham 1 : 2 Qarabag
