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Spurs logo
Europa League | Group Stage
Oct 22, 2020 at 8pm UK
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
LASK

Spurs
3 - 0
LASK

Moura (18'), Andrade (27' og.), Heung-min (84')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Michorl (45+2')

Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. LASK Linz - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Europa League group-stage clash between Tottenham Hotspur and LASK Linz, including team news and predicted lineups.

Tottenham Hotspur have the chance to get last weekend's shock capitulation against West Ham United out of their system when they take on LASK Linz in the Europa League on Thursday.

Spurs somehow chucked away a three-goal lead with eight minutes to go to draw 3-3 with their London rivals, putting a bit of a blemish on their start to the campaign.

Austrian side LASK enter this opening Group J clash in good form, meanwhile, having won six of their opening nine matches in 2020-21.


Match preview

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho shouts during his side's Premier League clash with West Ham United on October 18, 2020© Reuters

Whether it was complacency or, as Jose Mourinho saw it, a case of one of those things, Tottenham's late collapse against West Ham will take a long time to fully get over.

For the best part of an hour Tottenham were at their brilliant best, with Harry Kane assisting one and scoring two as he showed yet again why he is one of the world's best players.

A point is all Mourinho's men have to show for it, though, giving them a rather mixed return of eight points from their first five Premier League games.

Throw a 6-1 triumph away at Manchester United into the mix, however, plus a quarter-final spot in the EFL Cup, and it is easy to see why many are getting excited.

The aim for Mourinho this season is ultimately to win a trophy, and in the Europa League he has a realistic shot of achieving that.

Spurs suffered a surprise last-32 defeat at the hands of Gent last time around, but they have successfully navigated the group stage in their last four attempts.

That is expected to be the case this time around, having been placed in a group that contains LASK, Ludogorets Razgrad and Royal Antwerp - hardly the biggest of hitters.

Tottenham Hotspur duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min celebrate scoring against West Ham United on October 18, 2020© Reuters

Mourinho will be hoping for the safest passage possible through to the knockout stages, while at the same time attempting to juggle the onslaught of domestic fixtures.

With trips to Burnley and Antwerp to come in the next week, closely followed by the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion, rotation is going to be key for the North London outfit.

That is something opponents LASK will be looking to take full advantage of, with the Austrian side themselves having aspirations of making it to at least the last 32.

The Black-Whites boast good Europa League credentials, too, finishing top of a group containing Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven and Rosenborg last season.

However, they went on to suffer a 7-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester United in the last 16 - their only previous meeting with an English club.

Tottenham have a little more experience of facing Austrian sides, meanwhile, having defeated SV Stockerau twice and FK Austria Wien once in their previous four such encounters.

Another win for Spurs will go a long way to putting the West Ham result behind them, although as ever with the Lilywhites you can never be certain of what is around the corner.

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): WDWWWD

LASK Linz form (all competitions): DWWWLW


Team News

Gareth Bale in action for Tottenham Hotspur on October 18, 2020© Reuters

Gareth Bale was brought on as a second-half substitute against West Ham for his second debut and may be handed a full start here, fitness depending.

However, fellow Welshman Joe Rodon joined on domestic deadline day last week but was not registered in time to be eligible for the Europa League group phase.

Mourinho will undoubtedly make changes, even if his side have a four-day rest before facing Burnley, which will mean Dele Alli, Lucas Moura and Harry Winks coming into contention.

Carlos Vinicius is another pushing for a first start since arriving, but there are question marks over the fitness of Eric Dier after he missed the West Ham game.

As for the visitors, they eased to a 3-0 domestic cup win over Worgl at the weekend and will field their strongest available XI on Thursday.

Marko Raguz has scored five goals in six appearances this season, three of those coming in the qualifying phase of the Europa League as LASK saw off DAC Dunajksa Streda and Sporting Lisbon.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Hart; Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Davies; Winks, Lo Celso, Alli; Lucas, Vinicius, Bale

LASK Linz possible starting lineup:
Lawal; Ramsebner, Wiesinger, Filipovic; Ranftl, Holland, Michorl, Renner; Gruber, Raguz, Balic


SM words green background

We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 LASK Linz

LASK beat Sporting Lisbon in the final qualifying round and have won four of their last five matches in all competitions, so they cannot be written off.

Even accounting for the mass changes Mourinho is likely to make, however, Tottenham boast enough squad depth to kick off their Group J campaign with all three points.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data

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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 60.82%. A win for LASK Linz had a probability of 21.34% and a draw had a probability of 17.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.18%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-1 (7.19%) and 3-2 (5.58%). The likeliest LASK Linz win was 1-2 (4.81%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 2-2 (6.35%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 4.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Tottenham Hotspur would win this match.


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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
QWest Ham650115
QFreiburg640212
3Olympiacos62137
4Backa Topola60151

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
QBrighton641113
QMarseille632111
3Ajax61235
4AEK Athens61144

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
QRangers632111
QSparta Prague631210
3Betis63039
4Aris Limassol61144

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
QAtalanta642014
QSporting Lisbon632111
3Sturm Graz61144
4Rakow61144

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
QLiverpool640212
QToulouse632111
3Union SG62228
4LASK61053

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
QVillarreal641113
QRennes640212
3M. Haifa61235
4Panathinaikos61144

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
QSlavia Prague650115
QRoma641113
3Servette61235
4Sheriff Tiraspol60151

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
QB. Leverkusen660018
QQarabag631210
3Molde62137
4Hacken60060


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