UEFA Europa League - Match Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur VS Dinamo Zagreb

Match Time：3/12/2021 04:00 Friday  (GMT+8)

UEFA Europa League --  Tottenham Hotspur   VS   Dinamo Zagreb

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Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to stretch their winning streak when they host Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday evening. Spurs have won four games in a row in all competitions, though opponents Zagreb have been in even better form of late, winning eight matches on the spin.

 

Match preview

Jose Mourinho's side appear to have turned a corner since the end of last month - not only in terms of results but also their performances. The Lilywhites have won five of their last six, scoring 17 and conceding four during that run, which culminated in a 4-1 league victory against Crystal Palace on Sunday.That was arguably Tottenham's most impressive victory of the lot, with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Gareth Bale linking brilliantly in attack.Mourinho's decision to seemingly take off the handbrake has paid off and the Portuguese, who has won the Europa League/ UEFA Cup both times he has participated in it, will be hoping to maintain that momentum.Spurs eased past Austrian minnows Wolfsberger in the last round, following up a 4-1 away win with a 4-0 victory on home soil, but this showdown with Zagreb will be a far tougher test.The Croatian champions have been in ruthless form since the start of February, having won eight games from eight and kept seven clean sheets in the process. Dinamo have won six games in a row in the Europa League, meanwhile, which is their best ever run in Europe, and are unbeaten in nine in UEFA's secondary competition. Zoran Mamic's men were given a difficult time of things by Krasnodar in the last round, though Mislav Orsic's goal 30 minutes into the second leg sealed a 4-2 aggregate win.Taking on Tottenham over two legs will be a step up for Zagreb, of course, and they have a poor record against English teams in Europe.The Blues have lost nine of their last 10 such games, the exception being a 2-1 victory against Arsenal in the 2015-16 Champions League group stage.Tottenham, by comparison, have won five of their seven previous encounters with Croatian teams, all but two of those meetings being against Hajduk Split.

 

Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form: WWDWWW

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): WLWWWW

 

Dinamo Zagreb Europa League form: WWWWWW

Dinamo Zagreb form (all competitions): WWWWWW

 

Team News

Giovani Lo Celso remains Tottenham's only real fitness doubt for this game, though Serge Aurier is unlikely to be risked after sustaining a knock.Centre-back Joe Rodon will also play no part on Thursday as he was not registered in the Lilywhites' European squad.Mourinho may have been tempted to field a stronger-than-usual side in the Europa League for this game, but Tottenham face rivals Arsenal on Sunday so changes can be expected.Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga and Tanguy Ndombele are among those pushing for recalls, with the likes of Kane, Bale and Son likely to be given a breather.As for the visitors, Sadegh Moharrami is their only known injury absentee for this trip to North London.Bartol Franjic is back in contention after serving a ban in the second-leg win against Krasnodar, but Mamic may well go with the same XI that started that most recent European match.

 

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Lloris; Tanganga, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies; Hojbjerg, Ndombele; Lamela, Alli, Bergwijn; Vinicius

 

Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:

Livakovic; Ristovski, Lauritsen, Theophile-Catherine, Gvardiol; Ivanusec, Jakic, Orsic; Ademi, Majer; Petkovic

 

Tottenham Hotspur VS Dinamo Zagreb

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb