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Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham: Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou faces date with destiny in Europa League

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Ange Postecoglou faces a date with destiny on Thursday.

Lose the Europa League quarter-final to Eintracht Frankfurt and it will be curtains for the Tottenham boss, believes Jamie Carragher.

"It can't go on any longer," he told Sky Sports News. "I think if they go out to Eintracht Frankfurt, it probably would be a shake of hands and move on to something different for both parties."

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Postecoglou is presiding over potentially Spurs' worst Premier League campaign.

A 17th league defeat of the season on Sunday at Wolves means they are just three losses away from surpassing the club-record of 19 Premier League defeats in the 2003/04 and 1993/94 campaigns.

With a 1.15 points per match average, Spurs are also projected to record their lowest Premier League points tally. If they fail to take seven points from their final six games, including trips to Liverpool and Aston Villa, they will fall short of their 44-point season in 1997/98.

The error-strewn 4-2 defeat at Molineux leaves them a dismal 15th in the table and just two points above 17th-placed West Ham, putting them in danger of their lowest Premier League finish (15th in 1994).

"It's really hard to see and understand how Postecoglou is still in the position as head coach of the football club," Ricky Sacks of the Last Word On Spurs Podcast told Sky Sports News.

"It just seems pure and utter negligence by [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy and Co that this guy is still remaining in a job. It's unbelievable."

'Make-or-break for Postecoglou'

The hope of Europa League glory has given Postecoglou a stay of execution for now.

The Australian is being allowed to deliver on his promise of "always winning things in my second year", with Spurs desperate to end their 17-year trophy drought.

But his reign has all come down to Thursday's second leg in Germany, with the last-eight tie finely poised at 1-1 following an encouraging first-leg display in north London.

"It feels like make or break," ex-Arsenal striker Alan Smith told Sky Sports News. "They need a win in Europe to rescue their season and for Postecoglou to maybe save his job.

"Going over to Frankfurt with the fans behind the German team, who are riding high in third in the Bundesliga, that's going to be quite a task for them, and I'm not entirely confident that they've got it in them to handle it."

History suggests not, with Spurs having won just three of their last 14 away matches in Europe. And their form suggests not too, with Tottenham's numbers alarming under Postecoglou.

Only the bottom three clubs - Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich - have lost more league games, have a worse expected goals against and have taken fewer away points than Spurs this season.

In fact, since Tottenham's 4-0 win at Manchester City on November 23, only the bottom three have picked up fewer points than Spurs (18), who have lost 12 out of 20 games since beating Pep Guardiola's side (W5 D3).

It is a run which has seen them lose at home to relegation-threatened Ipswich and Leicester, the latter's victory their only one from their last 18 league games.

Carragher said: "Some of the results we've seen this season - there's been mitigating circumstances in terms of the injuries they've had - but even when they've had their full team, they've not been winning enough games.

"And this is not me just going on this season, if you go back to the first 10 games of last season when they were fantastic and top of the league, from then it's been going on for nearly 18 months with them conceding goals and losing games.

"It's not just turning on the manager really quickly over a poor run of form, this has been going on a long time."

Could EL glory keep Ange in Spurs job?

Twenty-five per cent of Postecoglou's 103 Premier League points were picked up in his 10-game unbeaten start to last season - a period which saw Spurs fans fall in love with the ex-Celtic boss.

Now, many want a break-up, including Sacks.

"His relationship with the supporters is at an all-time low," he said. "There's no real connection there to make you feel he can even win the fans back should he progress to the Europa League semi-finals.

"It just feels that there's been no plan. There's been no sense of any feeling from Daniel Levy that there's any kind of back-up with regards to this season, because during the season, there have been a few times where Tottenham should have and could have changed the manager on multiple occasions and have let this situation play out and play out now.

"This is no disrespect to Ange Postecoglou, but he will go down as one of the worst managers in Spurs' modern history."

On the other hand, Postecoglou could become Spurs' most successful manager of the 21st century with Europa League glory. Could lifting the trophy in Bilbao on May 21 change the 59-year-old's Spurs future?

"Even if Postecoglou somehow miraculously won the Europa League," Sacks said, "I'd find it impossible to feel how he'll be there beyond the summer."

The dilemma will only deepen if Postecoglou comes through his last-chance saloon on Thursday.

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Live football today on Sky Sports: Fixtures, kick-off times, TV channel and stream for matches this week and weekend

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All the live football on Sky Sports and Sky Sports+, including Premier League, EFL, Scottish Premiership, WSL and Bundesliga...

See all the live football by competition in our Sky Sports TV guide.

If you are a Sky Sports subscriber, you can watch any of the upcoming football below directly from the Sky Sports app.

Not got Sky? You can still watch or stream live football with a NOW Day or Month membership.

Got Sky? Watch your EFL team on the Sky Sports app

Watch free Premier League highlights

Stream the Premier League with NOW

All the football coming up on Sky Sports

Thursday April 17

Bradford vs Notts County - League Two, kick-off 8pm

Friday April 18

Saturday April 19

West Ham vs Man Utd - WSL, kick-off 12pm

Aston Villa vs Newcastle - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm

Union Berlin vs Stuttgart - Bundesliga, kick-off 5.30pm

Sunday April 20

Ipswich vs Arsenal - Premier League, kick-off, 2pm

Augsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt - Bundesliga, kick-off 2.30pm

Leicester vs Liverpool - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Monchengladbach - Bundesliga, kick-off 4.30pm

St Pauli vs Bayer Leverkusen - Bundesliga, kick-off 6.30pm

Monday April 21

Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest - Premier League, kick-off 8pm

Tuesday April 22

Man City vs Aston Villa - Premier League, kick-off 8pm

Wednesday April 23

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm

Friday April 25

Stuttgart vs Heidenheim - Bundesliga, kick-off 7.30pm

Stoke vs Sheffield United - Championship, kick-off 8pm

Saturday April 26

Eintracht Frankfurt vs RB Leipzig - Bundesliga, kick-off 5.30pm

Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Nurnberg - Bundesliga, kick-off 7.30pm

AFC Wimbledon vs Port Vale - League Two, kick-off 12.30pm

Doncaster vs Bradford - League Two, kick-off 12.30pm

Leyton Orient vs Wycombe - League One, kick-off 12.30pm

QPR vs Burnley - Championship, kick-off 12.30pm

Bristol Rovers vs Reading - League One, kick-off 12.30pm

Wrexham vs Charlton - League One, kick-off 7.30pm

Sunday April 27

Bournemouth vs Man Utd - Premier League, kick-off 2pm

Bochum vs Union Berlin - Bundesliga, kick-off 2.30pm

Liverpool vs Tottenham - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

Werder Bremen vs St Pauli - Bundesliga, kick-off 4.30pm

Monday April 28

Leeds vs Bristol City - Championship, kick-off 8pm

Thursday May 1

Nottingham Forest vs Brentford - Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm

Friday May 2

Heidenheim vs Bochum - Bundesliga, kick-off 7.30pm

Man City vs Wolves - Premier League, kick-off 8pm

Saturday May 3

Arsenal vs Bournemouth - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm

Borussia Dortmund vs Wolfsburg - Bundesliga, kick-off 5.30pm

Sunday May 4

Brighton vs Newcastle - Premier League, kick-off 2pm

Augsburg vs Holstein Kiel - Bundesliga, kick-off 2.30pm

Manchester United vs Manchester City - Women's Super League, kick-off 12pm

Chelsea vs Liverpool - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen - Bundesliga, kick-off 4.30pm

Mainz vs Eintracht Frankfurt - Bundesliga, kick-off 6.30pm

Monday May 5

Brighton vs Arsenal - Women's Super League, kick-off 4pm

Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest - Premier League, kick-off 8pm

Saturday May 10

Bournemouth vs Aston Villa - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm

Sunday May 11

Nottingham Forest vs Leicester - Premier League, kick-off 2.15pm

Liverpool vs Arsenal - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

* Subject to possible movement to Sunday April 13, kick-off 2pm, dependent on Premier League clubs' Champions League progress

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Brighton vs Leicester - Live match updates

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First Half: Brighton 0-0 Leicester

Brighton pushing for Europe | Foxes potentially two games from drop

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Commentary by Lewis Jones and Peter Smith

Brighton 0-0 Leicester

Remember, Leicester have lost their last eight Premier League games without scoring – they could become first team in top division history to lose nine successive games without scoring.

Deary me.

Teams are out!

"Sussex by the sea" blares out at the Amex.

The home fans are expecting a reaction from their side.

Vardy vs Baleba...

Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:

"Based on the warm-up it did seem Carlos Baleba will start at centre-back. He did play in pre-season for a couple of games for Brighton but is inexperienced, no doubt. Jamie Vardy will be looking to test him from the first whistle.

"Teams are in the tunnel. Glorious day."

How they shape up...

How things stand...

Brighton are only six points off Chelsea in fifth place. With 21 points still up for grabs, they can certainly still believe.

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Any hope for Leicester?

Just in case you needed to know, no team has survived from this position in Premier League history.

Leicester are 15 points from safety with seven games remaining – if they lose today and Wolves beat Tottenham on Sunday they will be 18 points from safety with six games remaining.

WATCH: Leicester 0-3 Newcastle

Eight defeats on the spin without scoring for Leicester. Laughable really.

WATCH: Crystal Palace 1-2 Brighton

Three red cards in what was a dramatic derby at Selhurst Park last weekend.

Jones Knows: Everything has it's price...back Leicester!

Sky Sports' betting expert Lewis Jones:

"Brighton's record against the bottom six at home this season wouldn't exactly send you rushing to the counter to back the 1/4 with Sky Bet on offer for a home win. They are winless in four home matches with Southampton, Ipswich, Wolves and Everton, scoring just three goals. And you can add a 2-2 in this reverse fixture at the King Power as another piece of evidence regarding Brighton's lack of guile when facing lesser opposition.

"But this is Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester - a team that haven't scored in 10 of their last 11 Premier League matches. Scoring runs like this always do come to an end - it could be time to jump on at 9/1 for a shock away win. Therefore, Bilal El Khannous, who scored Leicester's last goal at Tottenham and has eight shots across this goalless run, to score at 7/1 with Sky Bet is a potential betting angle."

SCORE PREDICTION: 0-1 | JONES KNOWS' BEST BET: Bilal El Khannous to score (7/1 with Sky Bet)

Premier League predictions, odds and best bets: Arsenal and Liverpool to lose, a win for Leicester?

Sky Sports

Mavididi, McAteer start for Foxes

Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:

"Ruud van Nistelrooy makes three changes from their defeat to Newcastle and changes the shape to a back four. Stephy Mavididi and Kasey McAteer are brought in from the wilderness to be given rare starts. Jamie Vardy leads the line."

No Mitoma, Baleba at CB?

Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:

"Brighton are without Karou Mitoma who has a heel injury. Simon Adingra replaces him. There will need to be a reshuffle at the back as Jan Paul van Hecke is suspended so perhaps Carlos Baleba will drop back there to partner Lewis Dunk as Yasin Ayari and Matt O'Riley both start and will likely play as the central pairing."

Leicester team news

Team to play Brighton: Hermansen, Justin, Okoli, Coady, Thomas, Ndidi, Soumare, El Khannouss, McAteer, Mavididi, Vardy

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Brighton team news

Team to play Leicester: Verbruggen, Hinshelwood, Dunk, Estupinian, Baleba, Ayari, Adringa, Minteh, O'Riley, Joao Pedro, Welbeck

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Hello and welcome!

Leicester are serious levels of rubbish, eh?

They could become the first team in top division history to lose nine successive games without scoring today.

All they have to play for is pride really but that's not sparked them into life over the last few weeks. And this another very tough fixture for them.

Brighton still have hopes of European football and need to get back on the horse after back-to-back defeats.

Teams dropping shortly...

EXPLAINED: Semi-automated offsides in the PL

Semi-automated offside technology is coming to the Premier League! What does that mean and how does it all work?

Sky Sports'Peter Smith reveals all.

Essential Questions: What now for Liverpool after Salah signs his new deal?

Sky Sports' Ron Walker, Sam Blitz and Will Bitibiri look ahead to the weekend's Premier League fixtures and discuss what Mo Salah's new contract at Liverpool could mean for the club as they try to wrap up the title.

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Van Nistelrooy vows to fight on at Leicester

Under-pressure Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has vowed to fight on as he attempts to drag the promoted Foxes back from the brink of Premier League relegation.

The Dutchman was downbeat in the wake of Monday's 3-0 defeat by Newcastle, which left second-bottom Leicester 15 points adrift of safety with just seven games remaining, and was less than equivocal when asked about his future in the aftermath.

However, as he prepared his players for Saturday’s trip to Brighton, Van Nistelrooy insisted he will remain at the helm as long as he is “needed”.

The 48-year-old former Manchester United striker said at a press conference: “It’s blow after blow and it adds up. After the Newcastle game, I was hurt. You’re always hurt when things don’t go your way and it adds up.

“It’s a challenge to break the cycle. We need personality. It’s going on too long. There’s only one way to break the cycle and that’s to fight, to believe we can end this cycle.

“You learn so much in difficult times and know you can use that in a great way. I am committed to now, to break this cycle. I don’t walk away from anything that’s happening now.

“I do my job. I’m committed to work with the players and the club to fight through this to show we can break this cycle. We also know we’re among two other promoted teams, so we shouldn’t over-dramatise it. That’s also the general picture to put it in perspective. I’ll do my job as long as I’m needed.”

Mitoma in danger of missing game

Kaoru Mitoma is in danger of missing his first Premier League match of the season when Brighton host Leicester.

The Albion winger is a major injury worry after hobbling off during last weekend's 2-1 defeat at rivals Crystal Palace.

Mitoma, who has scored nine goals this term, was clattered by Palace defender Maxence Lacroix, although the free-kick went the way of the Eagles.

The Japan international is the only Seagulls player to feature in every league match this term, but that record is now in doubt.

He could join a lengthy injury list which also includes Jason Steele, James Milner, Igor Julio, Georginio Rutter, Adam Webster, Ferdi Kadioglu and Tariq Lamptey.

"Kaoru is doubtful," boss Fabian Hurzeler said at his pre-match press conference. "He will try to train today, but overall the rest are the same."

To add to Hurzeler's problems, key defender Jan Paul van Hecke is out through suspension.

"Well, we have different options," added the German. "(Eiran) Cashin for sure will be an option. Mats (Wieffer) has already played there. Carlos Baleba is an option.

"We have several options, let's see how they do in training. Then we have to make a decision.

"I didn't want to say (if we have to change the formation), but we might have to do so."

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Ange Postecoglou hits back at Tottenham critics: 'Everything we do is turned into a negative'

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Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham have reached a point where even the "good stuff" they produce will attract an element of criticism.

The Spurs head coach was responding to a question about Mathys Tel, who struck a last-minute penalty to safeguard a 3-1 win over Southampton on Sunday, despite Brennan Johnson having the opportunity to complete a hat-trick.

Spurs' victory over bottom club Saints - who were relegated in the process - was their first in five Premier League outings as they languish 14th in the table, having lost 16 league games this season.

"We scored, we won. Delighted. It's incredible. If we're 2-1 up and we get a penalty in the last minute, I want our best penalty taker to take it," Postecoglou said.

Meet Spurs' Europa League quarter-final opponents

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"The one slight against this club is that it hasn't been a winner. The winners' mentality in the last minute is to score. We scored and somehow, in this alternate universe, everything Tottenham does is negative."

Tottenham travel to Wolves at the weekend with the third-worst away record in the division, but before then return to Europa League action by hosting Eintracht Frankfurt, with many suggesting Postecoglou's future at the club could depend on whether or not he can salvage a poor season by ending the club's 17-year trophy drought.

Opta places their chances of winning the competition at 17 per cent.

Spurs have only won one of their last 13 major European quarter-final matches, but have triumphed in two previous home games against Thursday's opponents Frankfurt, who won the Europa League themselves in 2022.

"Even the good stuff we may do is turned into 'glass half-empty' rhetoric," Postecoglou continued. "That can't be a driver. The lads are keen to bring success to the club, keeping driving the principles of this journey in terms of playing our football.

"Hopefully we worked our way into a position where we can make an impact on a disappointing season. I don't think I can win the argument of convincing people. The general sentiment of people is 'even if I win [the Europa League] I'm gone anyway'.

"We're in a quarter-final, we don't want to let that slip us by or have the wrong mindset. I think the players are handling it well, embracing the challenge."

Tottenham's injury woes have eased considerably, however the main miss will be Dejan Kulusevski, who has three goal contributions in Europe this year, while Kevin Danso also remains absent.

Postecoglou added: "We've got ourselves into a position where we have an opportunity to progress to the final stages. We have to focus on having a strong home performance.

"It's important we play the football we want to play, we're getting ourselves back into maintaining our levels.

"I've said before [criticism] isn't what drives me. I came with a clear vision - changing the way the team plays to rejuvenate the squad, because it was coming to the end of a cycle. Irrespective of noise, I don't see why that should diminish my ambition and desire to make that happen.

"Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle. This is just another struggle. Never have I thought I've lost the will to fight. I'll continue to do that."

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Ange Postecoglou hits back at Tottenham critics: 'Everything we do is turned into a negative'

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Ange Postecoglou hits back at Tottenham critics: 'Everything we do is turned into a negative' - Sky Sports
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Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham have reached a point where even the "good stuff" they produce will attract an element of criticism.

The Spurs head coach was responding to a question about Mathys Tel, who struck a last-minute penalty to safeguard a 3-1 win over Southampton on Sunday, despite Brennan Johnson having the opportunity to complete a hat-trick.

Spurs' victory over bottom club Saints - who were relegated in the process - was their first in five Premier League outings as they languish 14th in the table, having lost 16 league games this season.

"We scored, we won. Delighted. It's incredible. If we're 2-1 up and we get a penalty in the last minute, I want our best penalty taker to take it," Postecoglou said.

Meet Spurs' Europa League quarter-final opponents

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"The one slight against this club is that it hasn't been a winner. The winners' mentality in the last minute is to score. We scored and somehow, in this alternate universe, everything Tottenham does is negative."

Tottenham travel to Wolves at the weekend with the third-worst away record in the division, but before then return to Europa League action by hosting Eintracht Frankfurt, with many suggesting Postecoglou's future at the club could depend on whether or not he can salvage a poor season by ending the club's 17-year trophy drought.

Opta places their chances of winning the competition at 17 per cent.

Spurs have only won one of their last 13 major European quarter-final matches, but have triumphed in two previous home games against Thursday's opponents Frankfurt, who won the Europa League themselves in 2022.

"Even the good stuff we may do is turned into 'glass half-empty' rhetoric," Postecoglou continued. "That can't be a driver. The lads are keen to bring success to the club, keeping driving the principles of this journey in terms of playing our football.

"Hopefully we worked our way into a position where we can make an impact on a disappointing season. I don't think I can win the argument of convincing people. The general sentiment of people is 'even if I win [the Europa League] I'm gone anyway'.

"We're in a quarter-final, we don't want to let that slip us by or have the wrong mindset. I think the players are handling it well, embracing the challenge."

Tottenham's injury woes have eased considerably, however the main miss will be Dejan Kulusevski, who has three goal contributions in Europe this year, while Kevin Danso also remains absent.

Postecoglou added: "We've got ourselves into a position where we have an opportunity to progress to the final stages. We have to focus on having a strong home performance.

"It's important we play the football we want to play, we're getting ourselves back into maintaining our levels.

"I've said before [criticism] isn't what drives me. I came with a clear vision - changing the way the team plays to rejuvenate the squad, because it was coming to the end of a cycle. Irrespective of noise, I don't see why that should diminish my ambition and desire to make that happen.

"Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle. This is just another struggle. Never have I thought I've lost the will to fight. I'll continue to do that."

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Tottenham vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Meet Spurs' Europa League quarter-final opponents who can end their season

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A World Cup winner, a potential Premier League striker and the fastest Bundesliga player in history are all part of an Eintracht Frankfurt side aiming to end Tottenham's season.

The two clubs meet in the Europa League quarter-finals with Spurs hosting the German team on Thursday for the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before the second leg at Deutsche Bank Park on April 17.

Tottenham's hopes of saving their season by lifting the Europa League in Bilbao on May 21 now hinge on a last-eight tie against the Bundesliga's third-placed side, who lost their star player Omar Marmoush in January following a £63.2m move to Manchester City.

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Sky Sports talks to Sky in Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt reporter Dennis Bayer to give us the lowdown on the 2022 Europa League winners, who have an ex-Chelsea striker out to haunt Spurs…

'Reinvented Gotze playing quarterback role at Frankfurt'

Mario Gotze, who famously scored Germany's World Cup-winning goal in 2014, pulls the strings for Frankfurt, and the 32-year-old is hugely experienced, having made more than 300 Bundesliga appearances and played 119 games in European competition.

DB: "Mario Gotze has developed especially well in the last month, and he's becoming more of a core player for them.

"He hasn't just rediscovered himself, he's reinvented himself. If you look at the young Mario Gotze, when he was at Borussia Dortmund, he was one of the best players in the world. He was fast, he could dribble, he could shoot, and he had great vision and intelligence.

"Then he moved to Bayern Munich and his career took a little slide, because he didn't really fit in there. He didn't have a big injury, but he had some health problems [a metabolic disorder] so he was off the radar.

"Then he moved to PSV Eindhoven, and there he became a different Mario Gotze, because he's not that explosive, not that fast anymore.

"And now at Frankfurt, he's like a quarterback. He's playing a little more defensively than he did at the prime of his career, but he still has outstanding vision and the ability to scan everything that's happening on the field, so he assists and starts the offensive actions for the team. He's not the one anymore who does the highlight-reel stuff, but he's great for giving their game structure. He's the brain of the team."

PL target Ekitike 'one of the best Bundesliga players'

Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike is reportedly of interest to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, and he will want to prove against Spurs that he can cut it against Premier League opposition.

The 22-year-old Frenchman, who was once a Newcastle target, has scored 19 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions this season, so will he follow Marmoush in moving to the English top flight this summer?

DB: "Ekitike's great. He's one of the best players in the Bundesliga because he's really fast, he's tall, and very good technically with the ball, so that makes him a weapon. He's the one Spurs need to contain offensively to stop Frankfurt.

"The links to Premier League clubs are definitely there. I don't know exactly where he will go but Frankfurt are pretty sure that he will leave at the end of the season.

"I think Ekitike has everything to play for a top Bundesliga club. But he's not a training monster, so that could be an issue for a Premier League club. He's also not the most powerful guy, although he's athletic despite being a little thin.

"But I think with his abilities, his speed and his finishing, he could definitely play a big role in the Premier League."

Frankfurt have fastest Bundesliga player in history

If Gotze's vision and Ekitike's quality fail to hurt Spurs, then Frankfurt possess another weapon in Jean-Matteo Bahoya, who is the fastest player in Bundesliga history. Last month, the 19-year-old clocked up a speed of 23.09mph - watch his record-breaking pace below.

DB: "One of the hottest players right now is Jean-Matteo Bahoya. He joined a year and a half ago from the French second tier for €8m (£6.8m), but then he didn't play that much.

"This season, however, he's developing very fast and scored his first two goals for Frankfurt. He also became the first Bundesliga player to clock over 37km/h (23mph).

"He's a right-winger, and he's the guy to look out for. He doesn't have a high buzz around him, but he could be the next really good guy from Frankfurt.

"One of Frankfurt's biggest strengths are counter-attacks because they have these fast players.

"When they brought in boss Dino Toppmoller they wanted to develop more of a possession-based approach, and they tried to implement that last season, but it didn't work out that well.

"Now they've gone back to being that high-speed team and since then they've been more and more dangerous."

Could an ex-Chelsea striker haunt Spurs?

A player at Frankfurt who has played in the Premier League is Michy Batshuayi. The former Chelsea and Crystal Palace striker joined Frankfurt in the winter transfer window from Galatasaray, and the 31-year-old Belgium international has scored two goals in seven appearances across all competitions.

DB: "Batshuayi was a Marmoush replacement as a player that could fit in right away.

"They are kind of happy with him because they didn't think that he would come in and score 15 goals in the second half of the season - he's a rotational player coming in, not a core player for them.

"He's giving them some physicality and some presence in the box. He adds a different component to the offensive game because he's a little more powerful. He can keep the balls and hold it for a few seconds until the rest of the team comes to him."

But there is also the potential for Frankfurt to be stung by Tottenham forward Mathys Tel, whom they targeted in January before the Bayern Munich teenager joined Spurs on loan.

DB: "Frankfurt wanted to bring Mathys Tel in as a replacement for Marmoush. In an interview with Toppmoller last week, he was very open about that, and he confirmed that he likes him.

"Toppmoller also trained him when he was the assistant at Bayern a few years ago. He wanted to bring him to Frankfurt, but they couldn't manage to do it."

'Spurs face one of the best atmospheres in Germany'

A red-hot 58,000-capacity Deutsche Bank Park awaits Tottenham for next Thursday's second leg in Germany, so will that prove to be the graveyard for Spurs' season?

DB: "It's one of the best and most fired-up atmospheres in Germany. If Tottenham are not good at handling such atmospheres, it's going to be an opportunity for Toppmoller's side.

"Frankfurt are on the up. If they can play at their highest level, they have an advantage, and I would say Frankfurt will move into the semis.

"But they're not as consistent as in the first half of the season, so that could be a factor in Frankfurt which we will see. But I would say that they have the advantage."

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Tottenham 3-1 Southampton: Saints suffer earliest relegation in Premier League history

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Tottenham 3-1 Southampton: Saints suffer earliest relegation in Premier League history - Sky Sports
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Southampton suffered the earliest relegation in Premier League history after a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham, as Saints remain on course for the lowest-ever points tally in the competition.

Brennan Johnson's first-half double and Mathys Tel's stoppage-time penalty, after Mateus Fernandes' 90th-minute goal, saw Southampton relegated with seven games left to play - surpassing the previous record of six matches - for an immediate return to the Championship.

But the south coast club's nightmare season could get even worse with Ivan Juric's 10-point side still a point from equalling the lowest-ever tally in a Premier League season, which is held by Derby County, who managed 11 in 2007/08.

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Asked about avoiding Derby's record, Juric said at his post-match press conference: "It's our goal to avoid being the worst team in Premier League history."

A woeful Southampton provided the perfect opponent for Spurs to build some confidence and momentum ahead of Thursday's pivotal Europa League quarter-final first-leg against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The win was also a welcome relief for under-pressure Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou as Spurs ended their four-game winless league run to move up to 13th in the table.

Before kick-off, hundreds of Tottenham fans protested outside the ground against the club's ownership and chairman Daniel Levy - the second protest organised by the 'Change For Tottenham' group after a march in February ahead of the home game against Manchester United.

But those supporters' frustrations were temporarily put to one side as Johnson powered Spurs into a 13th-minute lead as he finished first time from Djed Spence's cross.

A five-minute VAR check then denied Lucas Bergvall doubling the lead as Cristian Romero was ruled offside in the build-up, but, three minutes later, Johnson scored his second in the 42nd minute after some poor Saints defending that summed up their dismal season.

The travelling Saints fans had something to cheer about in the 90th minute as Fernandes hammered home from close range to give them hope of an unlikely comeback.

But that was quickly extinguished six minutes later as Welington brought down Johnson inside the area and Tel converted the spot-kick to confirm Saints' relegation with a 25th league defeat of the season.

The unwanted records Saints can break

Southampton's miserable return to the Premier League has come to its inevitable conclusion.

The writing was on the wall for Southampton - and had been for some time.

They are the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with as many as seven games of the season remaining.

Southampton's relegation back to the Championship was confirmed following their 3-1 defeat at Tottenham, their 25th league defeat.

The Saints are the third team to lose as many as 25 of their first 31 games of a top-flight campaign, after Sunderland in 2005-06 and Sheffield United in 2020-21 (both also 25).

It has been quite the contrast to last season, when a 22-match unbeaten run in the Championship helped aid their successful bid for promotion to the Premier League via a play-off final win over Leeds at Wembley. The harsh reality is that many are now talking about Southampton as one of the worst teams in Premier League history.

Juric believes 'huge gap' in physicality reason for Saints' relegation

Southampton boss Ivan Juric speaking at his post-match press conference:

"What I noticed we missed the most in these three or four months that I'm here, [it's a] completely different physicality between us and the other teams in the Premier League.

"I think the same thing has happened to Leicester and Ipswich.

"The difference between physicality in the Championship and the Premier League… the gap is huge.

"But you have to find, from now, from this moment, the players that can grow up, that can improve. Not just thinking about winning the Championship, but create the players that will be ready in the Premier League."

Ange: We're ready for a 'big night' on Thursday

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou speaking in his post-match press conference:

"I was really happy with the first half. I thought we were really disciplined, well organised, we sort of limited them to one chance.

"And I thought every time we went forward we looked dangerous, we looked threatening - it's probably as threatening as we've looked for quite a while. Really fluent, obviously scored two goals, had one disallowed, Aaron (Ramsdale) pulled off some good saves.

"Really pleased but second half, not so much. I thought we became way too passive without the ball. We allowed Southampton to get a little bit of a rhythm and then really sloppy with the ball, and even the substitutions that we made didn't really make the impact I wanted to, which allows them to get a goal at the end.

"So that was disappointing and something we need to improve on, but overall I think the important thing is we got the win, we scored three goals, everyone got through unscathed and ready for a big night Thursday."

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