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Two and a half months after the second leg of the round of 16 duel with Manchester United, clearly lost with a total of 1: 7, the next great English club is waiting for LASK. With a market value of around 740 million euros (according to Transfermarkt.at), the “Spurs” coached by José Mourinho are the most valuable club in the Europa League and some 20 times more expensive than the LASK squad.
Aside from the star on the bench, goalkeeper Harry Kane, “homecomer” Gareth Bale and winger Son Heung Min are big names on the team for sixth place in the championship. “You keep looking at them standing up. It is an honor to play against them, ”said Ranftl, a player for ÖFB team.
“Spurs” offensively stronger than ManUnited
In group J, LASK has justified its promotion hopes in light of other opponents Ludogorez Razgrad and Royal Antwerp; at least a playful sense of accomplishment with the nobility of London football would be perfect. People are already used to the fact that the stadium, which opened in 2019 and has a capacity for 62,000 spectators, the most expensive in Europe at a cost of more than a billion euros, will not create a mood in front of the stands empty, and at least no downside to LASK.
“It will be very, very difficult and a great challenge,” said Thalhammer, who replaced Valerien Ismael in the summer and already has the English second team in front of his chest after the ManUnited second leg. “It was a good experience. We saw that we can stay stable,” he said, recalling the 2-1 win at United in early August. Compared to the “Red Devils”, Tottenham are currently on the offensive but “again stronger, with an incredible amount of speed and quality, “he said.
Europa League, Group J
Thursday, 9 pm:
Tottenham – LASK
London, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, SR Al-Hakim (SWE)
Possible configurations:
Tottenham: Hart – Doherty, Sánchez, Alderweireld, Davies – Winks, Lo Celso, Alli – Lucas, Vinicius, Bale
LASK: Schlager – Wiesinger, Trauner, Filipovic – Ranftl, Holland, Michorl, Renner – Gruber, Raguz, Balic
Act brave like in Lisbon
For the former ÖFB women’s team boss, it’s also a kind of personal duel with star coach José Mourinho, whom she described as “inspiring” for him. “The difference is relatively large in terms of salary,” Thalhammer joked. On a sporting level, there is a little more to do. “It is a great challenge to read a coach like this and understand how he acts tactically in different situations. We try and try to increase our chances. “
In principle, Thalhammer is clear on the matter. “We have to play with as much courage as in Lisbon,” he said, referring to Sporting’s 4-1 play-off win. “Retiring is the wrong recipe, no matter the situation. As a team, we have to form a compact block to give them few opportunities. If we hit our little subgoals and they add up, then maybe a good result is possible. “
Question mark behind Tottenham starting XI
It seems unlikely that Mourinho will send all of his offensive stars to the field since the beginning of Thursday. For Kane, for example, the Portuguese has an interesting option with Carlos Vinicius, who is on loan from Benfica, and who could get his first minutes of play for the ‘Spurs’.
Many expect at least Bale in the starting eleven, who after seven years and four Champions League titles at Real Madrid transferred to his old job on loan. The debut as “Joker” failed on Sunday, after 3: 0 and replacement of the Welshman had to be content with a 3: 3 against West Ham. Against LASK, Bale could make his “homecoming” official with his first international goals since December 2018.
