da fezbet： Tottenham Hotspur host Wolfsberger AC in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 32 clash later this evening, in what should be a mere formality for Jose Mourinho and his squad.
da betsul： Indeed, the north London giants hold a massive 4-1 lead over the Austrian minnows, all of which were away goals too, so that’s an added bonus.
The Spurs boss could be tempted to hand opportunities to several youngsters with many spotted in training this week, though just to ensure that it isn’t a potential banana skin, rotation from the off should stop at fringe players.
Dele Alli, who has only played 632 minutes all season, is surely in line to start – and so he should – but Mourinho needs to make an even bigger call over Gareth Bale tonight…
On the Chalkboard
The £18m-rated star has endured a tough time since his sensational return to Spurs in the summer, starting only two times in the Premier League, though he has featured in all seven of their Europa League matches thus far.
Bale has only completed one full 90-minute match all term too, as he battles fitness and injury troubles, so there may be doubt over starting him in a game of this nature, especially after making such a big impact against the Hammers on Sunday.
He came off the bench at half-time and provided an assist for Lucas Moura’s sole consolation goal. The 31-year-old even drew praise from Mourinho, who dubbed him a player with “special qualities.”
While talkSPORT pundit Dean Ashton urged the Spurs boss to play him more, he said:
“He’s some player. He’s been absolutely brilliant in this second half – so direct and full of quality,” before adding: “It was clear that Bale was great in midweek and should have started.”
The best thing for Mourinho to do here is let him continue that form with an hour or so from the start tonight, and that should leave him fresh enough for the test of Burnley at the weekend.
Overall since his comeback, Bale has still delivered seven goal contributions at a rate of one every 130 minutes, which is a better rate than Steven Bergwijn (one assist every 256 minutes) and Erik Lamela (one contribution every 250 minutes).
Yet both have often been preferred to the veteran Welshman in the Premier League.
A run of successive appearances could do him the world of good, and that will only benefit Spurs as the season rumbles on – they have lost six of their last eight in all competitions, so there is surely a place for a fit and firing Bale.
Forget about the Allis and Dane Scarletts, it is Bale who should be the first name unleashed on the team sheet today.
AND in other news, Levy can kill two birds with one stone in Spurs swoop for “insane” £40m-rated colossus…