Tottenham players who should start against Qarabag

On Thursday night, Tottenham Hotspur kicks off their 24/25 Europa League campaign, as they host Azerbaijani side Qarabag in the first of eight "league phase" games that they will play before the end of January.

With Spurs facing much tougher tests during the league phase, such as Galatasaray away and AS Roma at home, it is probably fair to say that we can expect plenty of rotation for this game.

Cristian Romero is suspended, due to his red card he picked up in the Champions League last 16 clash with AC Milan back in March of 2023, whilst Wilson Odobert will be out until next month with an injury. Richarlison remains out, also - so a few things to take into account before discoursing the side.

So, which players in particular should start this game? Let's dive in.

Tottenham players who should start against Qarabag

Rodrigo Bentancur's looming ban does not include European games, so in case of a suspension, it would be ideal for the club to keep his match sharpness up, so he is not too rusty when he comes back from a potential ban. The midfielder played really well in his 63 minutes on the pitch against Brentford, and against a simpler opponent on Thursday night, should have no issues with this one.

Archie Gray will surely get his second start of the season in all competitions here. With Djed Spence not in the Europa League squad, it will likely be at right-back. With Pedro Porro's idle national team status, Ange may feel he can play him in the Europa League - but against the tougher opponents, meaning Gray makes the most sense there for this one.

Brandon Austin signed a new contract with the club in the summer, and with Fraser Forster not taking his chance against Coventry City if Austin is not going to play against Qarabag at home - when will he? It has been an intense couple of games for Vicario, and with four goalkeepers included in the Europa squad, it will surely be a chance for the young goalkeeper to get a game.

Dominic Solanke got off the mark against Brentford and this would be a great chance for him to continue his momentum. Whilst usually, this is a chance to rest your high-profile players, there are a few things that negate that need here. For a start, we are only a few weeks into the season, so he will be relatively fresh in any case. Secondly, with his injury, he has not played much football anyway. Finally, with the summer off, Solanke has a lot less mileage in his legs than other players. Why not?

With Richarlison injured, there may not be much choice anyway. Will Lankshear has recently only recovered from an injury picked up against Bristol Rovers, and this game perhaps comes too soon in Ange's eyes.

Finally, Yves Bissouma has only played 181 minutes in the league this season, to go along with his minutes for Mali. Another player who had a summer off, this game is a chance for the midfielder to get up to match sharpness, which could be even more needed should the aforementioned ban for Bentancur kick in.