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Tottenham Hotspur vs. Elfsborg: UEL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction
In Thursday night's last Europa League League Phase encounter, Tottenham Hotspur will welcome Elfsborg to North London, putting their disappointing Premier League campaign to rest.
Spurs will face Osters IK in their first match against Swedish competition since their 1995 Intertoto Cup loss, which ended in a 2-1 loss.
Previous Matches and Head-to-head
A dismal 2-1 home loss to relegation-threatened Leicester City last weekend marked Tottenham's fourth consecutive top-flight loss, continuing an alarming slide that began when they thrashed Manchester City 4-0 at the tail end of November last year.
Even though they led at halftime, Spurs let two goals slip through their fingers in the first five minutes of the second half and failed to find the back of the net to salvage the match. Despite mounting pressure to reverse the club's fortunes in the face of a well-documented injury issue, manager Ange Postecoglou's future remains uncertain after the crushing loss.
Surprisingly, Spurs amassed 26 points in their first 10 games of last season, more than their current 23-game point total from this campaign. Despite this, they are mired in 15th position, closer to the relegation zone than the top seven. However, the Lilywhites' Europa League situation is looking better.
With last week's 3-2 victory against Hoffenheim in Germany, Postecoglou's squad snapped a three-match losing streak in the League Phase. They now rank sixth in the 36-team standings and will automatically advance to the round of 16 with a win over Elfsborg on Thursday. On the other hand, they risk missing out on postseason action if they lose or draw.
While Tottenham's recent home record in all competitions is three wins and five losses, they have an outstanding 16-game undefeated streak in European play (W13 D3), which bodes well for their encounter against Elfsborg.
With 10 points from seven League Phase matches, including consecutive 1-0 home victories over Qarabag and Nice, Elfsborg are still in the hunt to make it to the Europa League knockout stages for the first time in their history.
Thanks to a goal scored by Gustav Henriksson halfway through the second half, the Yellow Ones moved up to 20th position in the 36-team Europa League rankings, two points ahead of 25th-placed Porto in the elimination zone. Nice of Ligue 1 was eliminated from the competition.
With seven losses in their past eight European away matches and 24 goals conceded, Elfsborg may find it challenging to get a point away against a Spurs team currently suffering. However, if they can do so, they will almost guarantee a spot in the round of 16.
Oscar Hiljemark, a 32-year-old manager, oversaw Elfsborg's domestic season last November. The club finished seventh in the Allsvenskan table, having been narrowly defeated for the title the previous season on goal differential. Since then, the team has concentrated entirely on the Europa League, playing in a handful of friendly matches to stay healthy.
Following last week's match against Nice, the Yellow Ones will be gearing up for their first encounter with English opponents and their first encounter with a British team since their 2013–14 Champions League qualifying match against Scottish powerhouse Celtic ended in a scoreless draw.
Tottenham Hotspur x Elfsborg
Among Tottenham's many injured players are Dominic Solanke (knee), Brennan Johnson (calf), Destiny Udogie (ankle), Timo Werner (hamstring), and Wilson Odobert (hamstring).
In addition to Richarlison, who left the game against Leicester due to a groin injury, Pape Matar Sarr will be evaluated for fitness, James Maddison for an unknown reason, Djed Spence for a knock, Cristian Romero for a thigh injury, and Micky van de Ven for a hamstring injury; the latter two have trained with the first team this week.
The signing is in January. Because Antonin Kinsky will not be able to play in Thursday's match, Brandon Austin will likely start in goal. Both questionable, Yves Bissouma and Micky Moore might be called up to start in the middle of the field and on offense, respectively.
Elfsborg, however, is in good condition, and Hiljemark is likely to start a lineup quite similar to the one that beat Nice last week.
Last time out, Jalal Abdullai started in Michael Baidoo's place as the team's primary striker. This time, the 20-year-old will likely begin in that role again, with Gottfrid Rapp and Arber Zeneli assisting him.
In the running for Hiljemark's starting eleven spots, you'll find players like Isak Pettersson, Terry Yegbe, Niklas Hult, and Ahmed Qasem, who have all appeared in all seven of Elfsborg's Europa League matches so far.
Our Predictions
Tottenham Hotspur & over 2.5 @ 1.44 on Sky247.ng
In spite of Elfsborg's squad's relative youth, Spurs, which is currently suffering from injuries, will be considered heavy favorites to win Thursday's match.
The hosts will enjoy their chances of beating the Swedes, who have lost their previous three European road matches, especially if a handful of their players return from injuries.
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