Tottenham v Eintracht Frankfurt: Back Solanke to strike in 10/3 treble | OneFootball

Postecoglou's men to draw first blood

Thursday, 20:00

Who knows whether the damage is already done for Ange Postecoglou in north London, but being eliminated by Eintracht Frankfurt in this tie would almost certainly be a definitive moment. This really is last chance saloon - both for Tottenham's season and their Australian manager's future.

To the surprise of some, the Lilywhites are still favoured to progress from this one at 4/6, and they're third favourites to lift the Europa League on the outright market at 7/2, behind only Manchester United and Athletic Bilbao. As bad as their season has been, a cup competition still gives Spurs time to get things right temporarily.

Perhaps reaching this point can spark something for Tottenham. Knowing all remaining options are off the table for their season, this is a moment for them to forget about the long term and make the most of an important opportunity. Nothing should exist beyond this tie, and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will respond accordingly. There'll be time to figure out the fallout on the other side, if necessary.

Although I'm not quite so willing to believe in their powers of progressing after two legs, I do think we'll see Tottenham take the advantage in the first leg here. Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park is an intimidating arena where away teams have had a mightily difficult time in winning in recent years, meaning a Tottenham side who've shown big defensive frailties should be thinking about getting there with an advantage.

Frankfurt are unbeaten in their last 11 home matches in the Europa League (W6 D5), winning the last four in a row.

There's not been much between the sides in the Europa League this season along performance lines either. Both have scored 20 goals and Tottenham (11) have conceded just one fewer than Frankfurt (12), while the German side have been only slightly better when factoring for xG difference (+2.4 to +1.1).

What should be a key differentiator here is home advantage. Tottenham are unbeaten in their last 18 home matches in European competition, since losing to RB Leipzig in the Champions League in February 2020. And with an ambitious effort to take the game to Frankfurt - hoping to assert themselves with that home advantage - Postecoglou's side should be able to cause problems for the visitors who've only kept two clean sheets in their last 19 away matches in Europe.

Frankfurt are a talented attacking side in their own right, however, and will be preparing to catch the home side cold when their moments arise. Through the likes of Hugo Ekitike - who's been directly involved in 27 goals this term - they have the capacity to make the most of any Tottenham breakdowns.

Overall, I'll opt for Tottenham to win on the night and both teams to score. The north London side haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last eight across all competitions, and even if they can produce what Postecoglou is looking for on the attacking end, will surely have some precarious moments against a lively - if erratic (at times) - opponent.

Solanke will be hungry to produce

It's not been a great time for Dominic Solanke in front of goal in 2025. After scoring in his first game of the new year against Newcastle, he's since gone nine games without a goal across all competitions (of course, including some injury troubles in between).

In other words, this is an occasion in which he'll be desperate to make his mark and keep his team's season alive. Tottenham will want to play on the front foot and get themselves in the ascendency here, and Solanke will provide his typically selfless work from the front outside of his scoring ambitions.

The 27-year-old has attempted 27 shots across his last 10 starts for Tottenham, and had at least three in six of them. With that in mind, I'll go for him to land 1+ shot on target here, along with 1+ foul conceded during the match, owing to his defensive activity. He's averaged 1.6 fouls per 90 across all competitions this term, and will be keen to get after the Frankfurt back line here.

Along with the aforementioned tips for Solanke, I'll also throw in 2+ fouls conceded for Lucas Bergvall. The youngster has had some impressive moments this season and looks like a real positive for the future, but the combination of a big European night with his energetic work in midfield could take him over the limit on occasion.

The Swede has averaged 1.8 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, while he racked up four in his outing against Southampton at the weekend.

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