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Ange Postecoglou and Guglielmo Vicario are holding their press conferences in Bodo on Wednesday evening ahead of Tottenham's Europa League semi-final second leg in Norway.

Spurs hold a 3-1 lead ahead of Thursday's match against a Bodo side who have been dominant at home at the Aspmyra Stadion this season in European competition. Postecoglou should have a mostly fresh team to select from after making eight changes for Sunday's 1-1 draw at West Ham.

However, he is expected to be without James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall after their knee and ankle injuries respectively, while the Australian will also provide the latest updates on captain Son Heung-min and striker Dominic Solanke, with the latter shown boarding the flight to Norway.

Vicario will also be speaking out in Bodo and is likely to comment on his recent form, the injuries to those two key midfielders and Spurs' tough season as well as this chance to make something historic of it.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Postecoglou and Vicario. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at the Aspmyra Stadion.

Tottenham Hotspur have one foot in the Europa League final and, with it, the chance to make the league phase of the UEFA Champions League next season.

The 3-1 success over Norwegian side FK Bodø/Glimt last week has given Ange Postecoglou’s team a significant advantage heading into the second leg of the tie on Thursday evening, while in the other semi-final Manchester United hold a 3-0 lead over Spain’s Athletic Bilbao. A final between two Premier League heavyweights who have struggled domestically this season looks a good bet.

Both teams require the pot at the end of the rainbow. With no success domestically this season and both teams facing the need to invest in the playing squad significantly in the summer, the riches of the Champions League offer them something of a get out of jail free card, a chance to tap into more than £100m in additional revenue if they are able to secure victory.

For Spurs, that kind of revenue boost would be of huge significance this summer. The club has profit and sustainability rules (PSR) headroom of some £200m, but carrying heavy transfer debt on the books, something that could see them have to sell to buy in the transfer window due to the need to cash flow the business and transfer payables due way over and above the receivables to come in, means that revenue from the Champions League would be something of a saving grace, especially given there won’t be European football at all if they fail to win this season’s Europa League.

Much of Spurs’ transfer debt has been on credit in recent years, and as of the 2023/24 accounts, published last month, the transfer payables, which is the money the club owes to other clubs still for transfer fees, stood at £337m, an increase of around £250m from the £88m it stood at back in 2019, the year they moved into their new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium home. Sitting behind only Chelsea’s £479m, Spurs’ transfer debt is the second largest in the Premier League.

In terms of what is coming the other way, Spurs are owed £58m in transfer receivables from clubs, meaning that there is a £279m difference between the two, and that is not insignificant.

Given the way that PSR looks at allowable losses of £105m with permitted deductions for investment into infrastructure, the women’s team, the academy and community initiatives, Spurs’ heavy debt, much of it attributable to the new stadium, means that they are still in a good PSR spot, especially given their significant commercial and matchday revenue, and the low wages to revenue ratio that they have.

When it comes to the Champions League, qualification brings with it an immediate £15.7m in income as part of the revamped league model, where clubs play a minimum of eight games instead of six. At the league stage, every win earns a club £1.8m and a draw £590,000.

For finishing in the top eight of the league phase, which seals automatic qualification to the round of 16, UEFA awards £1.7m to each team.

UEFA then rewards teams for winning each round of the knockout phase, with the winner getting £21.5m, the runner-up bagging £15.9m, the semi-finalists scooping £12.9m, the quarter-finalists £10.7m, and those making the round of 16 getting £9.4m.

There is then the very significant matter of the Value Pillar, where TV rights are spread around clubs at a value commensurate to the club’s successes through two pillars, the European part and non-European part. The European part is the club market value and five-year UEFA coefficient, while the non-European part is based on a club’s 10-year coefficient. Some idea of what could be expected can come from the £16.5m that Aston Villa received in terms of the value pillar in 2024/25. In contrast, Manchester City received £38.6m.

If Spurs made the Champions League, to low-ball what could be expected, using the possibility of no money being made from wins or draws, the club would still bag some £28m, while four additional home games would bring in around £20m. But any additional success, such as wins and draws and qualification, as has been achieved by Aston Villa this season, can deliver up to £85m, a sum that will be larger for the bigger clubs with larger slices of the value pillar. Matchday revenue for Spurs, on average, stands at a little over £5m per game, meaning that getting into the knockout phase would add a potential three home games on top of that.

The money that Spurs have achieved this season from the Europa League is far below what the Champions League offers. The club have bagged around £21.2m, but qualification for the final and also winning it would bring in £44.9m. But it is what it unlocks for next season that will be most impactful, given that the club will also see a significant reduction in what they will receive from the Premier League’s central funding based on this season’s league performance.

Last season, Spurs finished fifth and claimed £45.1m from the merit payments that are distributed on a sliding scale, with the money derived from the domestic and international broadcast rights paid.

If Spurs were to end the season in 16th, the position they currently hold, then they would see that fall to £14m, a drop of almost 70%.

There are still millions to play for in the league when it comes to additional merit payments made for finishing higher, but it is the two remaining games in the Europa League that will define what this season, and forthcoming seasons, will look like.

The Premier League is reportedly set to change how matches are broadcast across the globe with a new idea that will affect Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

With technology ever-changing, Premier League supporters have become accustomed to seeing camera operators get up close and personal when filming the action. If you have attended a match recently, or watched from home, you will have seen shots of the players lining up on the pitch prior to kick-off, going through their last stretches before the game and reacting at full-time.

These images are captured thanks to the 'Steadicams' which operators can carry on to the field easily. Up until this point, these 'Steadicams' have not been allowed to enter the pitch during matches meaning goal celebrations are often captured from around the perimeter of the pitch.

But, according to the Daily Mail, that is set to change next season with 'Steadicams' allowed onto the pitch to capture celebrations in a move that is set to enhance the experience for supporters watching at home. It is also claimed that radio broadcasters and pundits will be encouraged to film their reactions during matches for the purposes of social media content.

TNT Sports and Sky Sports have been innovators in this field but have chosen only crucial Premier League matches and European nights to use this medium. It is thought that the rise of 'Fancam' channels has illicited this push for reactions.

These developments are reported amidst a shift towards further broadcasting of the Premier League. Starting next season, a new broadcast deal will come into effect that shall see up to 270 matches shown live across the season.

The deal, which is worth a whopping £6.7bn, will allow all matches that kick off at 2pm on a Sunday to be broadcast in the UK. Previously, matches that were moved to this kick-off time because of Europa League or Conference League involvement were not shown live in the UK.

Sky Sports have been awarded four of the five packages and will show a minimum of 215 matches per season including Saturday 5.30pm kick-offs, Sunday 2pm and 4.30pm kick-offs, plus evening games on Mondays and Fridays and three midweek rounds. TNT will show a minimum of 52 matches a season including all 12.30pm kick-offs on Saturdays and two midweek match rounds.

Amazon, which shows 20 matches per season under the league's current deal, has not secured rights in the new agreement. Sky Sports will also show all ten matches on the final day of the season.

This new deal, which begins in the summer, will run until at least 2029.

It could be an all-English final in the UEFA Europa League later this month.

Tottenham hold the advantage over Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt after the first leg of their semi-final, having picked up a 3-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Thursday.

Meanwhile Manchester United are in an even better position, having thrashed Athletic Club 3-0 in San Mames last Thursday. United therefore have a second leg at home with a three-goal advantage to hold onto and even build on.

Spurs, though, have the tougher task going to Norway to play on an artificial pitch against the Norwegian minnows.

And Tottenham have been given a further indication of who they could meet in the final, should they get there, with early team news coming out ahead of the game at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

Already in a commanding position, Manchester United have been handed a further boost with the news that Athletic Club will be without three key players for the second leg.

Nico Williams - linked with Arsenal this summer - Inaki Williams and top scorer Oihan Sancet are all missing the clash due to injury, according to our friends at the Manchester Evening News.

Athletic Club already have a mountain to climb, needing to score three unanswered goals just to take the tie into extra-time and doing so without three of their best players will be no mean feat.

It looked, after last week's clash, that United had one foot in the final - coincidentally in Bilbao - and with that injury news it would appear they have more than a foot in the final now.

Tottenham know what they have to do in Norway on Thursday night and they pretty much know who they will be facing should they get there already.

Aston Villa bosses insist they are “not happy” after their Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur was brought forward two days following a special request made by Spurs.

Tottenham were due to travel to Villa Park on Sunday, May 18 but requested the fixture to be brought forward due to their potential involvement in the Europa League final. Ange Postecoglou’s side are in a strong position to reach the continental final on May 21 as they lead Bodo/Glimt 3-1 with the semi-final second leg to be played on Thursday.

The Premier League confirmed on Tuesday that the fixture will now be played on Friday, May 16 with a kick-off time of 7:30pm. The Premier League said in a statement: "The Premier League match between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur has been given a new date of Friday 16 May, kicking off at 19:30 BST. This is following a request from Spurs in view of their potential participation in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday 21 May."

Villa’s director of football operations Damian Vidagany said his club had reluctantly accepted the change, and hoped the “clear prejudice” against Villa in this decision would be remembered should they need assistance with fixture scheduling due to European football next season. “Fixture changed and honestly, not happy,” he wrote on X.

“But it could be even worst (sic). We really pushed – everyone in the club at different levels – with solid and fair grounds to protect our fans ( our main task and duty) and keep the Spurs match on Sunday. Nothing against Spurs.”

Vidagany said that considering the alternatives were to bring the game forward even earlier to Wednesday or Thursday, playing on Friday was the least “damaging” they could get. Efforts to bring the match forward to Saturday, May 17 were thwarted because of the clash with the FA Cup final, Vidagany said.

“Hopefully in the future all of them (the Premier League and the Football Association) would remind the clear prejudice in this case to Villa fans and will be consistent and equally supportive if we need changes to help us in Europe (if hopefully we are there),” Vidagany added. We didn’t feel this support last season or this one. European football is not only demanding for English clubs on the verge of the finals.”

Earlier this season, Villa had a rearranged Premier League fixture against Liverpool moved into a midweek slot that they thought would be free after avoiding a play-off round in the Champions League. Villa’s director of football Monchi echoed Vidagany’s sentiments, adding on his own X account: “The change of the fixture of Tottenham is not what we wanted. We were not entitled to keep it and we got the least damaging alternative.

“Our fans didn’t deserve but we tried hard to keep the match to protect the most important for us: YOU and OUR TEAM. We need you on Friday. Always Up the Villa!!!”

Tottenham lead their Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt 3-1 on aggregate heading into Thursday night’s second leg. If they progress they could well find themselves up against Manchester United in the final, with the Red Devils 3-0 up in their tie against Athletic Bilbao ahead of the home leg.

Leaving Spurs’ match where it was would have given United a major advantage in terms of rest, with their league game against Chelsea already scheduled for May 16. The kick-off time for that fixture has now been changed from 8pm to 8.15pm, with Villa vs Tottenham starting at 7.30pm.

"I’m sick all day of reading about journalists, or other people who have got no affiliation to Liverpool, telling Liverpool supporters how they should feel."

That was the fiery message from Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher in response to the fan backlash to Trent Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave Liverpool.

The England right-back is expected to sign a deal with Real Madrid following the expiration of his Liverpool contract this summer and the decision has been met with opinion on both ends of the scale.

Some Liverpool fans are happy for him and what he has given to the Reds since rising through the youth ranks at Melwood. Others, meanwhile, have hit out at the 26-year-old for turning his back on the club and ending his loyal association with the Reds.

In a rant on Sky Sports, Carragher said: "There’s this thing that I’ve been reading throughout the day, obviously when the news breaks. You’ve got the reaction of Liverpool supporters, which are different. Some people wish him all the best, some people are really angry, some people are somewhere in the middle. I’m probably one of the ones who are somewhere in the middle.

"Liverpool as a city and a football club is very emotional and that's what makes us what we are. I don't think people out there should be telling Liverpool supporters how they should feel. Liverpool supporters can feel how they want about this situation."

Carragher, of course, is absolutely right. No person has any right to tell another person how or what they should feel about any given situation.

The problem is that Carragher, as someone in the media, has suggested how supporters should feel in the past himself, and that's what grates.

When Harry Kane left Tottenham for Bayern Munich in 2023 - a move not dissimilar to Alexander-Arnold's Real Madrid move, bar the excess of trophies the Liverpool man won in his time on Merseyside and the huge fee Spurs received for their all-time top goalscorer - there were differing opinions from Spurs supporters.

Of course most will have wanted Kane to stay and remain loyal to the Lilywhites, but others were happy for him and felt he deserved a shot at winning trophies, something he did not manager with Spurs.

But when Kane failed to win a single thing in his first year with Bayern, it did give some supporters something to smile about. He has, of course, rectified that this time around, with Bayern being confirmed as Bundesliga champions at the weekend - Kane's first ever trophy win.

Last year, though, Carragher said: "There is always this sort of criticism of him or maybe people laughing at him because he never really won a trophy at all at Tottenham.

"He goes to Bayern Munich, serial winners, and then he doesn’t win a trophy. I don’t understand the ridicule. This is a guy who is one of the top strikers in world football, certainly from an English point of view, we should be proud that one of our players has gone over to the Bundesliga, one of the biggest teams in the world and he is producing one of the best seasons we have seen from an English player playing abroad.

“People ridicule him, whether it’s Spurs fans, who should actually be proud of him that one of their players is playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world and he has come through their academy."

Carragher told us that we shouldn't ridicule him and that we should be proud that one of our academy players was now playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Personally I am proud of him and I was accepting of him leaving to go and further his career. But I'm not necessarily like everyone else. Some people bear a grudge, football means everything to them; just like it does to Liverpool fans.

Liverpool supporters are not unique. It doesn't mean more to them than anyone else. We all love this game and we all have the right to feel how we feel.

Tottenham Hotspur now look set to be on a level playing field compared to Manchester United ahead of a potential Europa League final.

Spurs and United are overwhelming favourites to both reach the Europa League final from their current positions in their respective semi-final ties.

Ange Postecoglou's side have a 3-1 lead over Bodo/Glimt as they travel to Norway for the second leg on Thursday night. Man United have a 3-0 advantage over Athletic Club as they host the Spanish outfit in midweek in their semi-final second leg.

If both Spurs and United reach the Europa League final they would then meet in the showpiece fixture in Bilbao on Wednesday, May 21.

But now neither Spurs nor United have an advantage or disadvantage going into the potential final matchup later this month.

It has been confirmed by the Premier League that Tottenham's clash against Aston Villa is set to be moved from Sunday, May 18 to Friday, May 16 with a 7.30pm kick-off at Villa Park.

This means that Spurs' clash would kick off on the same day as Man United travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which also takes place on May 16.

Previously, Man United would have had 48 more hours than Tottenham to prepare for the Europa League final, which would be the subsequent fixture for both clubs.

Thanks to the rescheduling by the Premier League, Spurs will have the same amount of time to prepare for the Europa League final against United, provided both clubs get past their respective opponents in the semi-final.

Postecoglou is expected to be without several key players for the semi-final second leg against Bodo/Glimt.

James Maddison missed the draw with West Ham with a knee injury, but Dominic Solanke could return after not featuring in the trip to the London Stadium. Son Heung-Min, Lucas Bergvall and Radu Dragusin also missed the stalemate with the Hammers due to injury.

Julian Alvarez has urged Cristian Romero to join Atletico Madrid ahead of the summer transfer window. The 27-year-old defender faces an uncertain future at Tottenham Hotspur, having recently expressed his desire to play in the Spanish top flight.

Romero, who has two years left on his contract in north London, has featured 18 times in the Premier League this season, keeping just two clean sheets. The Argentina international missed a large chunk of the campaign due to injury, suffering a hamstring problem shortly after coming back from spell on the sidelines.

Despite his best efforts, Tottenham have spent much of the campaign in the bottom half of the table. Ange Postecoglou's side certainly suffered in Romero's absence, going on a seven-game winless streak during the festive period.

While Spurs have been rather disappointing on the domestic stage, the Argentinean has led them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. With European football far from guaranteed, Romero has been linked with an exit.

In an interview with Spanish outlet Diario AS, Alvarez endorsed the signing of the Tottenham defender. As quoted by Fabrizio Romano and World Soccer Talk, the Atletico striker said: "Hopefully Cuti Romero comes [to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium].

"He would help us a lot. Atlético Madrid is a family. It’s more similar to Argentina than the Premier League," added Alvarez. Last month, Romero revealed that he 'would love to play in the Spanish top flight.

"La Liga is left for me to play in, I would love to, to tell you the truth," the Spurs defender told Argentine broadcaster TyC Sports. "I would love to play there because it’s the league I’m missing."

Romero added: "I try to above all live the day to day. There are almost two months until the championship ends and in my head it’s always (about) performing to the maximum, trying to finish in the best way possible.

"We’re in the semi-final of the Europa League. It’s an important step for the club after so many years where they hadn’t reached those stages. To say I’m happy (with that)?

"No, because in the end I want to win it, but it depends on a lot of things. After that, once the championship finishes, we’ll see. The truth is I haven’t spoken to my representative yet but I’m open to anything.

"In my head, I always (think about) growing, also (about) going to new places to keep growing but I don’t want to talk about that yet because there’s a few months left of the championship."

There's no smoke without fire. According to The Athletic, Atletico are interested in signing Romero, with Diego Simeone eager to bolster his backline this summer.

The report claims that the Spanish giants have already submitted an enquiry about the Tottenham defender, who has been given a £60m price tag. It's said that the Lilywhites' transfer strategy will largely depend on the fate of Postecoglou, who faces an uncertain future himself.

Tottenham Hotspur have a UEFA rule to thank ahead of their Europa League semi-final against Bod/Glimt.

Spurs hold a 3-1 lead over the Norwegian club going into the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday night.

Victory over two legs Ange Postecoglou's side would see them reach the Europa League final, where they would face either Manchester United or Athletic Club in Bilbao later this month.

Postecoglou will hope to have as many players available for the trip to Norway on Thursday night, one of whom will be Cristian Romero.

The centre-back has played a pivotal role in helping Spurs reach the Europa League final, and Postecoglou will hope to have the centre-back available to face Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night.

It was in the first leg that Romeo picked up a yellow card, which was his second of the Europa League campaign so far.

Players who pick up three bookings in the tournament are automatically handed a one-match ban.

Luckily for Tottenham, this threshold is wiped out after the conclusion of the quarter-final stage.

That means even if Romero was to get his third booking of the season in the second leg against Bodo/Glimt, he would not be issued a one-match ban and is not in danger of missing the Europa League final.

The only way that Romero would be forced to have a suspension for the Europa League final against either Manchester United or Athletic Club is if he gets either a red card or two yellow cards against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday.

Romero was an unused substitute for Spurs in their draw with West Ham in the Premier League and the weekend and could return for the second leg against Bodo/Glimt in midweek with a place in the final up for grabs.

Tottenham know it really is make or break in their season now. The first leg of the Europa League semi-final went almost exactly to plan for Ange Postecoglou, with his side racing into an early lead against Bodo/Glimt.

Brennan Johnson's early goal put the team on the right track, with James Maddison adding a second before half-time to put them in a commanding position. Things were looking rosy after an hour when Dominic Solanke added a third from the penalty spot, but the last half-hour of the game could have gone better.

First, Maddison went down with an injury, and it looks likely to be one which rules the England international of at least the second leg of the tie. Postecoglou revealed after the game against West Ham that "it doesn't look great" on the midfielder's prognosis, which does not bode well for the rest of the season.

Then, Solanke himself went down with a problem and was subbed. He missed the game against West Ham, though things do look better for him than Maddison.

Then the opponents grabbed a foothold in the tie. A 3-1 win is impressive in any semi-final; but the late goal offers just a glimmer of hope for the Norwegian side, heading back to their home which has been a stronghold this season.

With a raft of changes made for the trip to the London Stadium, more yet are expected for the biggest game of the season so far for Spurs. But who will be starting at Aspmyra Stadion?

Defensive changes

While Guglielmo Vicario started in goal as usual, the entire backline was changed for the draw against West Ham. Out went Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie; in came Archie Gray, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies and Djed Spence.

It seems likely that the changes will be reversed for the trip to Norway. Postecoglou will want his top players available to do a professional job and hold onto the two-goal advantage, and the defence who started the first leg are just that.

Midfield issue

Rodrigo Bentancur is sure to come back into the midfield in place of either Yves Bissouma or Pape Matar Sarr. After decent displays in his last two outings, Bissouma looks set to keep his place in the XI.

With the injury to Maddison, Postecoglou faces what looks a fairly simple decision on the surface. His replacement on the night was Dejan Kulusevski, who also started the game against West Ham on Sunday.

However, the Swedish star hasn't looked himself since returning from injury midway through April. In truth, he's played an awful lot of football this year and looks ready for the season to reach its conclusion and a well-earned break.

So it will likely come down to whether Postecoglou opts for more defensive stability in Sarr or some attacking creativity in Kulusevski.

Attack

It would be a surprise if Johnson didn't start after being an unused sub against West Ham. The attacker was key to the quick start in the first leg and should be well-rested to try and pick up another early goal to kill off the tie.

Elsewhere, Postecoglou did state that Solanke looks likely to be fit for the trip to Norway. "Dom's improving," he said. "We obviously left him out today but the medical team are pretty confident he should be right for Thursday."

That would indicate that he will be coming in to start in the No.9 role. Then it's a choice of who plays on the left. Richarlison started there against Bodo/Glimt but was withdrawn at half-time for Mathys Tel, who also made an impression as he started against West Ham.

Will Postecoglou be tempted to start the on-loan Bayern Munich star? Or will he repeat his method from the first leg? It's an interesting choice, and one which could prove key as Spurs go hunting for a place in the final.