Tottenham Hotspur one step away from Europa League group stage
Tottenham are one game away from the Europa League group stage.
If Tottenham Hotspur win the Europa League this season, they will have taken a long journey to get there.
Due to a congested schedule as the season started late due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the qualifying matches have been played in one-off, winner-takes-all games instead of home-and-away legs. That will all change in the familiar group stages should Spurs get there.
After surviving a scare in two qualifying games, both of which after long-distance travel, Tottenham return home for the playoff round with a chance to punch their ticket to the group stage.
After defeating Shkendija 3-1 on Thursday night, Tottenham advance to the playoff round, where they’ll host Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs will be strong favorites in another one-off tie, and should they win, they’ll have the opportunity to go far in this competition.
Tottenham would be top-seeded team in group stage
Should Tottenham get the job done next Thursday night, they’ll enter the group stages in Pot 1 due to their strong UEFA club coefficient. As a result, they’d avoid the other top-seeded teams such as Roma, Napoli, and Villarreal.
Spurs also would avoid other English clubs, which means they won’t land in the same group as Leicester City, who could be in a lower pot.
Of course, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Spurs first need to qualify for the group stages with a win next Thursday night. That said, win this game and the path for a deep Europa League run is there.
As a top-seeded team, Tottenham would enter their group as favorites. And with the benefit of playing six games — two games against each team home and away — they would have plenty of opportunities to put up points. The top two teams from each group advance to the Round of 32. From there, the experience of Jose Mourinho and Gareth Bale would help Spurs. And don’t forget, new signing Sergio Reguilon won this competition with Sevilla last season.
Work is still to be done, but Tottenham are close to securing a spot in the Europa League group stage. Up next is a home game against Maccabi Haifa.