Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho’s team selection for this teatime’s UEFA Europa League last-32 second-leg clash with Wolfsberger AC at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has sparked a reaction from no shortage of the Spurs fan base.
Spurs, who suffered a fifth Premier League defeat in their last six outings on Sunday, losing 2-1 to West Ham United at the London Stadium, head into this evening’s showdown with the Austrian outfit 4-1 up from last week’s first-leg.
Goals from Son Heung-min, Gareth Bale, Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius all but sealed Mourinho’s side passage to the last-16, meaning this evening’s return-leg should be a straightforward exercise for the home team.
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But even though Spurs, barring any disasters, will be involved in Friday’s last-16 draw, Mourinho has refused to take this teatime’s second-leg lightly, fielding a strong team, as his side aims to get back to winning ways after the weekend’s frustrations at the hands of the Hammers.
With that said, Toby Alderweireld, Moussa Sissoko and Steven Bergwijn have all been named in Mourinho’s starting line-up as Spurs look to progress to the next stage of the competition with minimal fuss.
As well as Alderweireld and Sissoko being included in the starting line-up, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Carlos Vinicius have also been awarded starting berths.
Tottenham starting line-up: Hart; Doherty, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies; Winks, Sissoko; Lamela, Dele, Bergwijn; Vinicius. Substitutes: Lloris, Reguilon, Son, Bale, Kane, Tanganga, Lucas, Ndombele, Scarlett, Lavinier, Markanday, John.
In total, following Sunday’s defeat to West Ham, Mourinho has elected to make nine changes to his starting line-up, with only Eric Dier and Erik Lamela surviving the chop.
Most of the reaction around Mourinho’s team selection has centred around the Portuguese’s decision to include Dier in his XI.
The England international has come in for heavy criticism of late, with several Spurs fans less than impressed with his recent performances.
That has led to plenty of Spurs fans producing angry reactions online, although some believe his inclusion in the Europa League this evening means he may be dropped against Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday.
Above, football.london has taken a close look at what some Spurs fans have had to say on social media in response to Mourinho’s team selection.
You can follow all of this evening’s developments from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by keeping tabs on our dedicated live match blog.