Tottenham Hotspur’s season rests on the Europa League. There’s no other way of putting it with a semi-final against Bodo/Glimt now just hours away.
Spurs have had a season to forget on the domestic side. They are out of all the cup competitions and sit in a lowly 16th place in the Premier League table.
A 5-1 away loss against Liverpool over the weekend was less-than-ideal preparation for Thursday night’s first leg. It was Spurs’ third Premier League defeat in a row, following losses against Wolves and Nottingham Forest the previous two weeks.
But, however disappointing the domestic campaign has been, success in the Europa League would go a long way to reducing the campaign. Winning the tournament wouldn’t just bring some much needed silverware to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but it would also mean that Tottenham would be playing Champions League football next season.
That would be a big boost both financially and as well as attracting players in the summer transfer market. Concentration for the final weeks of the season will therefore be on Spurs’ European games, despite there still being four Premier League games remaining.
For Tottenham, the first of those is at the London Stadium against West Ham United on Sunday (2pm kick-off). The game sees Spurs come up against the team directly below them in the league table.
It’s hardly an ideal scenario for Ange Postecoglou in between the two legs of their semi-final vs Bodo/Glimt. It leaves the Spurs boss with a dilemma over his team selection for the game against West Ham.
In an ideal world, Postecoglou would make wholesale changes to rest players for the second leg. But, if that happens and Spurs lose, a fourth loss in a row, would see them drop down to 17th place in the Premier League table.
That is bound to increase the pressure on the Tottenham boss amid talk over his future, and not help the mood around the club., especially if that fourth loss in a row comes against the club's London rivals.
West Ham's supporters would love to beat Spurs and leave them only one place above the relegation zone. However, Spurs will also want to avoid injuries and make sure that key players are fresh for the second leg against Bodo/Glimt.
Unlike Tottenham, the Norwegian side are not in action next weekend, meaning that they have a full week to rest, recover and prepare for the second leg.
While that’s something Spurs would love, they will instead have to strike the right balance at the London Stadium, which is not always easy to do.