Europa League

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Europa League | Group Stage

Oct 29, 2020 at 5.55pm UK

Bosuilstadion

Antwerp
1 - 0
Spurs

Refaelov (29')
Seck (20'), Refaelov (50'), Verstraete (84'), Mbokani (90')

FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Royal Antwerp vs. Tottenham Hotspur - prediction, team news, lineups

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 27 October 2020

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Europa League fixture between Royal Antwerp and Tottenham Hotspur, including team news and predicted lineups.

Tottenham Hotspur continue their Europa League campaign on Thursday evening with a fixture against Royal Antwerp in Belgium.

Both of these sides started life in Group J by recording maximum points, seeing off LASK Linz and Ludogorets Razgrad respectively.

Match preview

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho shouts during his side's Premier League clash with West Ham United on October 18, 2020 © Reuters

Having needed to win three qualifying fixtures in order to reach the group stages, Spurs have had a hectic start to their first full season under Jose Mourinho.

Nevertheless, that has not prevented the Portuguese from naming strong starting lineups in this competition, helped with the recent arrivals of Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius.

Although they are still waiting for regular opportunities in the Premier League, the pair made an impact on their first starts against LASK Linz last Thursday, highlighting the strength in depth which Mourinho now has at the North London outfit.

Like with the majority of clubs in this competition, domestic action will take priority, but Mourinho will be grateful that he can hand game time to several high-profile players who need regular outings.

Spurs also head into the encounter in Belgium looking to extend their unbeaten record in all competitions to 11 matches.

However, they square off against opponents in Antwerp who have put together a similar streak, recording six wins and a draw from their most recent seven fixtures.

While Ivan Leko's men have scored at least two goals in each of those encounters, they have failed to keep a clean sheet on every occasion.

That has not stopped Antwerp from sitting at the top of the domestic standings, but conceding 14 goals in 10 league fixtures will only provide Spurs with the encouragement to attack on Thursday evening.

Remarkably, no player has netted more than four goals in the league this season with former Norwich City and Hull City forward Dieumerci Mbokani sitting at the top of the scoring charts.

Royal Antwerp Europa League form: W
Royal Antwerp form (all competitions): DWWWWW

Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form: WWWW
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): WWWDWW

Team News

Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale celebrates with Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius during the Europa League clash with LASK Linz on October 22, 2020 © Reuters

Bale and Vinicius will almost certainly start in attack for Spurs, likely being joined by Erik Lamela.

Of the players who started the fixture with Burnley on Monday evening, Ben Davies and Moussa Sissoko may be the only players who keep their place in the side.

Although Dele Alli did not feature in the 18-man squad at Turf Moor, the England international is in line to feature among the substitutes.

Leko is unlikely to make major alterations to the side which edged out Beerschot at the weekend.

Former Manchester United and Leicester City defender Ritchie De Laet should feature in a three-man backline, while Aurelio Buta could come into the side at wing-back.

Royal Antwerp possible starting lineup:
Butez; Seck, Gelin, De Laet; Buta, Haroun, Hongla, Juklerod; Gerkens, Mbokani, Refaelov

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Hart; Aurier, Sanchez, Davies, Reguilon; Sissoko, Winks; Lamela, Lo Celso, Bale; Vinicius

SM words green background

We say: Royal Antwerp 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur

Even though Mourinho will ring the changes for this fixture, we do not expect Antwerp to cause a surprise. Bale and co have much to prove to their manager, and the Premier League outfit should cruise to victory on Thursday evening.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 50.04%. A win for Royal Antwerp had a probability of 25.56% and a draw had a probability of 24.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.42%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.57%) and 0-2 (8.62%). The likeliest Royal Antwerp win was 1-0 (7%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.57%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 7% likelihood.