What To Look for in Tottenham at Royal Antwerp in Europa League
By Aaron Coe
Joao Sacramento dropped the bomb Bale is starting but what else can we expect to see in Belgium from Tottenham and Royal Antwerp in Europa League Thursday?
Other than Japhet Tanganga, Tottenham Hotspur have a fully available senior side, meaning there will be some serious rotation from the Monday Burnley game for Thursday evening in Belgium. HotspurHQ already gave our projected XI, which we know has at least one correct player – Gareth Bale. So what, besides the big Bale news did Joao Sacramento share in his interview with SpursTV, and what else do we know and can we look forward to in Tottenham’s match-up with Royal Antwerp in Europa League?
Sacramento on Antwerp
We know two things from Joao Sacramento, Gareth Bale is supposed to start, and numbers are not a problem for Spurs. Player availability cannot be an excuse whether Tottenham are able to break down Antwerp, as once again Spurs will have nearly everyone available. Suddenly a team that looked so thin last season is transformed. Sacramento commented that not “a lot of teams in the world have this advantage” with this being the depth of what he called a “very strong squad”.
According to Sacramento as a “big club like Tottenham” Spurs want to “win every game” including Thursday in Belgium as part of the process of “getting an identity” as a football team. That concept of identity is something Royal Antwerp does already have according to the assistant coach. Joao noted that Antwerp is big, experienced, and like to play with a back five making them hard to break down on defense. Thus, Tottenham are going to need this big, strong squad to succeed. Read on to learn more about Royal Antwerp and what to expect from Tottenham.