Brazilians Headline Tottenham Projected XI for Trip to LASK

Tottenham Hotspur travel to Linz to take on LASK in the penultimate game for Spurs in Group J, we believe José Mourinho will bring this team to take the 3 points.

In the first fixture of the Europa League Group Stage Spurs beat LASK 3-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That match was the full debut for Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale as the Brazilian had two assists and Bale created the third on an own goal. Now, with an opportunity to secure advancement to the knockout stages this is the team we at HotspurHQ think José Mourinho will take and start, and it is headlined by our two Brazilian attackers up front.

Hotspur Forwards

After a successful outing last week against Ludogorets in Europa League, which Vinicius score his first goals for Tottenham, José Mourinho looks to maintain the momentum and brings back the same strong three-man attack he had against Ludogorets.

Lucas Moura (LW)

As Mourinho looks to stretch his squad and get everyone experience, Lucas Moura seems to have landed in the closer role in the Premier League. Moura comes on later in games that Spurs want to hang on too. Additionally, Moura is part of the group of players who starts in Europe. Both roles are mostly down to how much Mourinho trusts the Brazilian. Lucas Moura may not always produce goals, but you know what you will get in terms of effort and attitude and that means a lot in a José Mourinho squad.

Carlos Vinicius (ST)

Part of Moura’s role has been helping his fellow countryman Carlos Vinicius settle in London and with the club. After Carlos scored two goals last week, he then started paying his Brazilian brother back, by assisting Lucas for Spurs fourth goal. That was Vinicius’ third assist on the season for Spurs. After completing his first 90 last week, expect to see the Benfica loanee go for 90 again, as Harry Kane is being saved for the North London Derby.

Gareth Bale (RW)

Gareth Bale is still trying to get his second turn with Tottenham fully on track. Bale has made a few appearances and has contributed a goal and an assist for the team already. However, that signature moment all the fans are looking for has not occurred. Europa League is likely the place we may first see that magic again because until then Premier League minutes may be harder to come by.

Tottenham Midfielders

José Mourinho has been using the Europa League to slowly expand his options with his midfield. Last week he used Tanguy Ndombele in a deeper holding role for half the match and reintegrated Dele Alli back into the line-up. As the Portuguese protagonist continues to search for his best set up options across the pitch, we see more change in the midfield as Mourinho continues to tweak his engine room midweek.

Giovani Lo Celso (CM)

Last week Tanguy Ndombele played for the first hour or so before giving way to Pierre Højbjerg. It was a new role for Ndombele as he had previously only played in the #10 position for Spurs this season. Instead of Ndombele dropping deeper to add a bit more zip to the Tottenham attack Giovani Lo Celso gets a call. After spurning a good chance last against Chelsea, the Argentine must be chomping at the bit to get on the back the pitch and make some amends. Expect a big performance from the midfielder.

Harry Winks (CM)

Harry Winks bossed the midfield much of the game against Ludogorets and will be looking to do the same against LASK. While it is unlikely Winks will score from near midfield again – intentional or not – seeing Winks move the ball quickly, mostly in a vertical direction for the team is what we all want to see. When Winks goes sideways, it slows things down, however, when Harry plays a bit more direct – even at the expense of passing completion percentage – his effectiveness goes up. That needs to continue to get in the weekend team.

Dele Alli (CAM)

Dele Alli was good but not great in his return to the team last week. He unintentionally set up the first goal, then provided a nice assist for Vinicius’ second. While Dele did not hit all the points in his appearance on our five-point plan, he did enough to warrant another runout. It is going to take a series of sustained performances to get back into the team, hopefully Thursday is the second of many big outings to come for Dele.