Tag Futebol

Daredevils revive campaign with crushing win

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Delhi Daredevils have not given the Feroz Shah Kotla a lot to crow about in 2015, but in their final home match at this ground in the IPL group stage, they gutted Kings XI Punjab’s top order, then blew past the opposition’s 118 for 8 by nine wickets

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando01-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:49

O’Brien: One of the most insipid performances in a T20 match

Delhi Daredevils have not given the Feroz Shah Kotla a lot to crow about in 2015, but in their final home match at this ground in the IPL group stage, they gutted Kings XI Punjab’s top order, then blew past the opposition’s 118 for 8 by nine wickets. Zaheer Khan claimed a wicket in each of his first two overs to kick Daredevil’s most dominant performance of the season into gear, while JP Duminy and Nathan Coulter-Nile chipped in with scalps of their own. After 3.3 overs, Kings XI were 10 for 4 – their chance of rising above last place already on the rocks.Coulter-Nile returned to terrorise the middle-order later on, finishing with figures of 4 for 20. Daredevils’ openers Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer struck casual half-centuries in the reply, and the hosts raced home inside 14 overs.Zaheer had not played competitive cricket in almost a year, following the strain sustained in his back at last year’s IPL, but his impact at the Kotla was nearly immediate. Virender Sehwag was coming back to the Kings XI side himself, after a one-match layoff, but could find no end to his poor stretch of form against his former India team-mate. Sehwag aimed to push his second ball from Zaheer through the covers, but as the ball seamed away a touch, could only get a thick outside edge to it. Mathews took the catch at a close-in point.Duminy opened the bowling from the other end, and hit Shaun Marsh in front of the stumps with a slider first ball. Manan Vohra tried to blast Kings XI out of the mire, but a Zaheer short ball next over put paid to those ambitions, catching the advancing batsman’s outside edge en route to the keeper. Coulter-Nile bowled sharp outswing in his first spell. His reward was the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha, who drove loosely at one of those balls, and presented another catch to the keeper.David Miller and George Bailey threatened a recovery, before Bailey was out missing a sweep off Amit Mishra in the eighth over, to embed Kings XI in misery at 37 for 5. It wasn’t until Miller and Akshar Patel were joined at the crease that some semblance of a partnership materialised for the visitors. Those two shelved the more aggressive tenets of their game in the 59-run stand that gave Kings XI something to bowl at. Coulter-Nile had them both caught in the deep in the 19th over.From the second over, Delhi’s chase seemed a cakewalk. Shardul Thakur was wayward in his first IPL over, feeding Iyer two short wide balls to be cut over third man off successive deliveries. When he attempted to correct his line, he went too far the other way, first delivering a leg-side wide, then being clipped to the fence off the pads. There were quiet overs, and a tight spell from Sandeep Sharma, but the batsmen were largely untroubled in pursuit of such a meagre score. Iyer slammed the wayward Thisara Perera to the square-leg fence to reach his half-century in 38 balls, but he was caught at deep midwicket next over. Agarwal remained unbeaten with 52 from 40.

Mumbai, Chennai prepare to bow out

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings were expected to go further than the first round of the Champions League, but they struggled to adjust to the conditions

Firdose Moonda21-Oct-2012The Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings squads were sitting in a hospitality suite in the top tier of the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It is one of the best places to watch cricket in the ground but it may not have been that pleasant for them that day.As they looked down on Lions’ Jean Symes mowing the ball through mid-on for four, both sides knew that no matter what they did, the rest of their time in South Africa would be inconsequential. With that one shot, Symes took Lions into the semi-finals and knocked out three other teams, including both IPL representatives in the group.Without much time for their elimination to sink in, Mumbai and Chennai took the field in what seemed like a daze. Faf du Plessis looked like he had been given a licence to go wild, then Lasith Malinga reined it all in. Chennai retained control though, until Dinesh Kartik began pulling away. He tugged and tugged and eventually the rope snapped and Mumbai were left holding the short end.The contest was one of the best of the tournament. The advantage shifted throughout, audacious shots were played, extraordinary catches taken and a healthy crowd had remained in the ground to see it. But it was difficult to get excited about any of that, as it will be when Chennai play Yorkshire and Mumbai take on the Syndey Sixers in their final acts of the event.Three of the four IPL teams will not participate in the knockouts, a surprise considering how loaded the format was in their favour. Their failure can be put down to an inability to adjust to early season South African pitches, bad weather (Mumbai and Kolkata had a rained-out encounter each) or as, Karthik said, simply being worked out by better opposition.”We should put it down to the fact that we haven’t played good cricket and that other teams have played better than us,” he said. “It’s been hard because we were looking pretty good in terms of batting in the one game [against Yorkshire] and then it was washed out. That’s how this tournament goes. We had a great start against the Lions but it was a game we could have played better.”Karthik denied there was any other explanation for their performances, and he thought there had been enough preparation time. “All the teams were here a week before and we acclimatised,” he said. “These days international cricketers travel around the world and it’s the domestic cricketers who don’t know a place like South Africa. The pitches are a little different to those in India but we even played practice games. They have been good wickets, and good teams could play well on them. One whole IPL was held here.”Ben Hilfenhaus, the Chennai Super Kings fast bowler, shared that sentiment. “With so many good players and so many good competitions around the world, when you get the best teams together, you’ve got to expect some good cricket. It doesn’t matter where those teams come from,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any extra pressure on IPL teams. It is 20-over cricket, and results don’t necessarily go to the favourite team.”As defending champions and the most successful franchise in the IPL, Mumbai and Chennai were two of the fancied bunch. Now, they have nothing but self-respect to salvage, and that kept them motivated when they played each other. “Both teams have a rich tradition. We’ve played each 12 times and it was six wins each, so there’s a bit of history there,” Karthik said. “Both the teams played with a lot of spirit and a lot of energy. We didn’t play thinking that it was okay if somebody loses. Both our teams came hard at it.”Whether they will have that same enthusiasm against non-IPL opposition in their final matches is doubtful. “The feeling was probably a little flat during the warm-ups,” Hilfenhaus admitted after the game against Mumbai, hinting that Chennai may have some feet on the plane already.For Karthik and Mumbai, the hope is that only remaining IPL representatives, Delhi Daredevils, can restore all of their reputations. “They are a team well suited to these conditions, and being an Indian team I would love to see them win,” Karthik, who was once a Delhi Daredevil, said. “If Delhi goes on to qualify, it will be a great thing for the CLT20 because you will definitely get a lot of viewers from India watching them pretty keenly, and I will be one of them. It will be great to see Delhi do well.”

Hughes hundred hurts Sri Lanka's hopes

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Phillip Hughes scored his first Test century in two-and-a -half years to give Australia every chance of playing out a series-winning draw at the SSC

The Report by Brydon Coverdale19-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPhillip Hughes scored his first Test century since March 2009•AFP

Smart stats

  • Phillip Hughes’ century is his first since his twin centuries in the second Test against South Africa in Durban in 2009. In between, he made only one half-century in ten Tests.

  • Hughes also achieved the feat of scoring a century and a duck in the same match. Michael Hussey was the previous Australia player to do so against England at The Oval in 2009.

  • Angelo Mathews’ 105 is his first century in Tests and his third fifty-plus knock of the series. He has so far scored 274 runs in this series at an average of 91.33.

  • Mathews’ century is the eighth by a Sri Lanka batsman in home Tests against Australia. Five of them have been scored at the SSC.

  • In Tests since 1990, there have been 76 centuries scored at the SSC in 33 Tests. Only Lord’s has witnessed more centuries (84 in 39 matches).

  • Sri Lanka’s lead of 157 at the end of their first innings is the third-highest for them in Tests against Australia.

  • This is the third occasion when there have been three fifty-plus partnerships for the first three wickets for Australia in Tests against Sri Lanka. The previous two occasions were in Hobart in 2007 and Galle in 2004.

Phillip Hughes scored his first Test century in two-and- a-half years to give Australia every chance of playing out a series-winning draw at the SSC. But at the end of a day that began with a Sri Lankan crawl as Angelo Mathews ate up valuable time in reaching his maiden Test hundred, Rangana Herath had troubled Australia’s top order enough to give Sri Lanka some hope of victory.Sri Lanka must win the match to level the series, and their fate hinges on whether they can run through Australia’s middle order early on the final day. At stumps on the fourth afternoon, Australia were 52 runs in front, with seven wickets in hand, and they had a well-set Hughes still at the crease on 122 alongside the captain Michael Clarke on 8.If time does beat Sri Lanka, they will regret their slow march on the fourth morning, when they added 45 runs to their overnight total but took more than an hour and a half to do so. By tea, Australia had all but knocked off the 157-run first-innings deficit and they were in no hurry during the final session, happy to bat as much time out of the match as possible.Not that Hughes had been slow. He brought up his century from his 141st delivery with a push through the off side for two, and his celebration was noticeably muted: there was a small fist pump and raise of the bat but none of the helmet-kissing that has marked Australian milestones in recent years. He knew that the selectors had shown great faith in him by dropping Simon Katich.Hughes hadn’t passed fifty in any of his past ten Test innings, and not since his twin hundreds in Durban in March 2009 had he reached triple figures for his country. He took 22 balls to get through the nineties, which included a nervous moment on 99 when he survived an lbw review after getting in a tangle trying to dab behind gully; the ball had hit the flap of his pad before bat, but outside the line.Earlier, Hughes had been in fine form, and his driving through cover whenever the seamers overpitched was especially strong. He also cleared the midwicket boundary with a slog off Herath and brought up his fifty with another slog-sweep, this time off Tillakaratne Dilshan, from his 67th delivery. Importantly, he had support all the way.His partnerships with Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh and Ricky Ponting were all worth sixty-something. Herath worked hard to remove all three batsmen, the dismissal of Ponting for 28 late in the day a key blow when the ball turned sharply and kissed the batsman’s gloves on the way through to Mahela Jayawardene at slip.Herath had earned the wicket of Watson (21) with a delivery that went straight on, and despite a huge stride forward, Watson was lbw on review after being given not out by the on-field umpire. That review worked for Sri Lanka; another one would have worked against them, if only Marsh had thought to request one when he was out for 18.It was a strange dismissal, as Marsh was given out caught at bat-pad, but replays showed Herath’s delivery had turned so much that it missed the bat and gloves by a significant margin. However, perhaps forgetting the DRS was available or maybe just convinced he had made contact, Marsh failed to ask for the review that would have saved him.But that was hardly the most baffling part of the day’s play. The real mystery was why Sri Lanka batted so slowly during the morning, when what they really needed was quick runs to give themselves adequate time to bowl Australia out and then complete a chase if necessary. Instead, the focus seemed to be solely on Mathews making his hundred, no matter how long it took.He did get there, and remained unbeaten on 105 after he lost three of his final four partners while en-route to triple figures. Australia were happy to consume valuable minutes by setting the field back, knowing Mathews would not take singles early in an over to expose the No.11 Suranga Lakmal, and the path to his century was long and drawn out.Eventually, he got there from his 256th delivery with a drive through cover for four off Peter Siddle, and it was a relief for a man who had twice been out in the nineties. The final wicket fell when Lakmal was bowled by Mitchell Johnson for 13, after Siddle picked up the early breakthroughs.Siddle started the day by bowling Shaminda Eranga for 12 with a fullish ball that caught the inside edge and cannoned on to the leg stump, and he followed up by trapping Herath lbw for 3. Herath had the decision reviewed but to no avail, and a few overs later Chanaka Welegedara was run out in a major mix-up with Mathews.Welegedara pushed to mid-on and took off for a single but ended up at the bowler’s end alongside his partner Mathews, and the ball was relayed to Brad Haddin who whipped the bails off at the other end. It typified a morning when Sri Lanka were simply not on the ball.But by the end of the day, Herath’s strikes had at least given them some chance of victory. If they start the fifth morning as they did the fourth, that hope will quickly disappear.

Collymore leaves Sussex for Middlesex

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Corey Collymore, the former West Indies seamer, is to leave Sussex and move up to Middlesex at the end of the season to be closer to his family

Cricinfo staff13-Sep-2010Corey Collymore, the former West Indies seamer, is set to leave Sussex and move up to Middlesex at the end of the season to be closer to his family.Collymore, 32, joined Sussex as a Kolpak player in 2008 after his international career faded, and has been a pivotal part of their side since then. He has spearheaded Sussex’s drive to the the Division Two championship this summer as the club’s leading leading wicket taker with 57 scalps at 19.87. Despite his success, he wants to support his partner who is looking to complete her accountancy qualification in London.”I’m obviously disappointed to be leaving Sussex but I feel it is the best decision for me and my family,” he said. “I’m fortunate to have played for a very successful club over the last few years. The atmosphere has been great and I have many friends here at Hove. Everything has been tremendous, and I couldn’t have asked for any more from the club.”His arrival at Lord’s is a major boon for Middlesex who have struggled this year with Steven Finn on England duty and overseas signing Iain O’Brien missing large parts of the season through injury. Whether Collymore is supported by O’Brien next year is out of Middlesex’s hands as the club waits for the ECB to decide if he can be classed as a home player rather than an overseas. If not then O’Brien will be looking for a new county because Middlesex have secured the services of Australian opener Chris Rogers.Sussex, who will be in Division One next season, are now in need of another seamer but coach Mark Robinson bared no resentment for Collymore’s decision.”Corey has been an integral part of our attack for the last three years in four-day cricket, and at times he has carried our bowling unit this season and been a constant threat all year,” he said. “It is sad when anyone leaves the club but we respect Corey’s desire to be closer to his family.”

Leeds should unleash Shackleton more

by rastrear-estafeta.com Uncategorized

Leeds are currently enduring a topsy-turvy 2021. They suffered three straight defeats at the start of the New Year but bounced back emphatically with wins over Newcastle and then more impressively Leicester.Though, their loss to Everton has set Marcelo Bielsa’s men back a bit.On the chalkboardMuch of Leeds’ inconsistent form in recent months can be attributed to injury problems. Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente have all had spells on the sidelines.As a result, Bielsa has had to patch various parts of his squad together. It’s a period that’s seen Luke Ayling and Kalvin Phillips play at centre-back while Pascal Struijk has also deputised in defensive midfield.The Dutchman bizarrely played in a more forward role than Phillips when Leeds lost to Crawley in the FA Cup before featuring in the same role during the defeat to Brighton.In both games, he disappointed.Struijk was dragged off at half time versus Crawley having failed to win a single ground duel. Considering that’s a fundamental aspect of playing in holding midfield, it didn’t bode well.Though, a game later he was also somewhat of a passenger. The defender lost possession of the ball 13 times and completed 80% of his passes – a tally that was down 8% from his season average at the time.Consequently, the youngster was given fierce criticism: “I think Struijk looks out of place, playing Kalvin’s role. I’ve got to say I don’t think there’s anyone that can play Kalvin’s role in the team which is worrying for me. When he’s out we don’t seem to have that flow in our game going forward and the discipline in the defensive role,” Noel Whelan told Football Insider a few weeks ago.The solutionReplacing Phillips’ influence on this Leeds squad is an incredibly hard job. Therefore, whoever plays in his role when he’s absent is likely to underperform in comparison.Though, a better suitor in the middle of the park than Struijk would surely be Jamie Shackleton. The 21-year-old has started just once in the top-flight this term but can bring plenty of qualities to the table that Bielsa loves.For starters, Shackleton is versatile. He has played at right-back, right-wing and in central midfield for the Whites this term.The youngster is a defensive midfielder by trade and has already caught the eye in the last few months. He replaced Struijk in midfield after just 21 minutes when the Whites beat Aston Villa 3-0 back in October.He won 66% of his defensive duels and was assured in possession, completing 84% of his passes. At full-time, Shackleton earned the following review from Leeds Live reporter Beren Cross:“The best we have seen from Shackleton in months. Settled in so quickly and linked up the play between midfield and attack beautifully. So important for his confidence and visualising himself in this team going forward. Tireless running and helped Klich win that midfield battle with McGinn and Barkley.”It’s clear that the young Leeds prodigy is more mobile than Struijk and that’s one of the primary reasons he should be unleashed ahead of his fellow academy graduate in midfield.Shackleton is evidently adored by Bielsa too. The Argentine waxed lyrical about his qualities following a brief cameo in the 5-0 win over West Brom.“Good organisation, energetic, he’s quick, he can surprise opponents, plays in a position which has many varieties as a box-to-box midfielder.”Those are certainly appealing traits for a midfielder and if Bielsa can call upon him more regularly, it will give the manager a chance to finally end the torrid experiment of Struijk in midfield.AND in other news, Leeds could have their new Sam Byram in rarely-seen 19 y/o who’s a “box of tricks”…

Figueirense e Criciúma se enfrentam visando vice-liderança do Estadual

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

MatériaMais Notícias

O Figueirense fez os últimos ajustes para o duelo contra o Criciúma, neste sábado. O atacante Dudu que volta de suspensão, disputará vaga com Guilherme Queiroz. Já o zagueiro Nirley entra no lugar de Bruno Alves que ficará de fora por sua expulsão no empate com o Guarani de Palhoça.

Após o treinamento desta sexta-feira, os jogadores relacionados para a partida seguiram para o hotel de concentração onde permanecem até horas antes do jogo da partida.

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A equipe do Criciúma fez na manhã desta sexta-feira, o último treino antes do clássico. Roberto Cavalo segue fazendo mistério com a escalação, mas segue na expectativa da possibilidade, de Jheimy ter o registrado no Boletim Informativo Diário (BID).

– Estamos na expectativa desde quando contratamos. Ele fez dois treinos, mas se tiver BID, vai ficar à disposição. Vamos utilizá-lo da melhor maneira possível –

O atacante foi relacionado ao lado de nomes como Élvis, Wellington Saci, Diego Giaretta e Bruno Lopes.

O Figueirense está na terceira colocação, com cinco pontos, mas com um jogo a menos. Já o Criciúma é o segundo colocado com sete pontos em quatro jogos.

Exclusive: Carlton Palmer drops big claim on Solskjaer’s future at Manchester United

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer has delivered his verdict on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future at Manchester United amid links to Mauricio Pochettino.

It’s safe to say that the Red Devils have endured a difficult start to the season after they were dumped out of the Champions League by RB Leipzig.

However, United have begun to turn their poor run of form around, as they shared the spoils with bitter rivals Manchester City before edging past Premier League strugglers Sheffield United at Bramall Lane last time out.

But Solskjaer has come under immense scrutiny in recent weeks, and Ed Woodward has failed to dampen the speculation, although recent reports emerged in the media that the board will continue to back the under-fire boss.

Yet this has done very little to halt the rumours and questions over his future at Old Trafford, with Pochettino waiting in the wings.

When asked if he thought United would target the former Tottenahm Hotspur manager, Palmer told Football FanCast’s Tom Ward:

“Well, the way they’re talking is that Solskjaer is safe until the summer. Don’t get me wrong, even with Ole being there, they’ll still be there or thereabouts finishing in the top four, because they’ve got talented individuals.

“But that’s not good enough for Manchester United. They should be challenging for the league and they’re going to be a long way off from that.

“Finishing in the top four doesn’t mean anything now. I mean, if you finish behind Liverpool, you’re going to be 20 points behind in second or third place.”

United play host to newly-promoted Leeds United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon as they look to resume their Pennines derby rivalry before they face Everton and Leicester City in quick succession in what could be a defining moment for Solskjaer’s managerial career.

He will be well aware that his side cannot afford to slip up, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Ed Woodward must sanction Manchester United swoop for Bayern Munich defender David Alaba…

Rangers’ predicted starting XI to face Celtic in Old Firm derby

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Glasgow Rangers are gearing up to face Celtic at Parkhead in the first Old Firm derby of the season on Saturday afternoon.

The 54-time Scottish champions will be hoping to stretch their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to four points. And Steven Gerrard’s side will need to be at their very best if they are to beat the Bhoys in the 421st Old Firm battle.

The Light Blues are currently unbeaten this season, winning eight of their league games and drawing the other two games, whilst they have shown that they are a tough team to beat, as they have only conceded three goals from their first ten fixtures in the top flight.

Old Firm derbies are never a dull affair, though the game will be played behind closed doors, but that won’t stop supporters from tuning in to watch one of the most anticipated games of the season so far.

Here is the starting lineup we are expecting to see at Parkhead, including two changes from their last league outing.

It was claimed that the Rangers boss could have been forced to make several changes with as many as six players potentially unavailable for the lunchtime kick-off, as Allan McGregor, Alfredo Morelos, Joe Aribo, Filip Helander and Kemar Roofe were all considered doubts for the clash with Celtic, whilst Nikola Katic remains a long-term absentee due to injury.

However, McGregor, Morelos and Helander have all been cleared ahead of the Old Firm derby, although neither Aribo nor Roofe will be fit to face Neil Lennon’s side later today.

After facing an anxious wait, McGregor will assume his rightful place between the posts, with Jon McLaughlin dropping back down to the bench.

The veteran goalkeeper will most likely start behind a back four consisting of Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson and James Tavernier lining up alongside the 11-cap Swedish international.

Moving further afield, Steven Davis may make room for Ryan Jack, meaning Scott Arfield and Glen Kamara could make up the rest of the midfield trio. Bongani Zungu will have to wait for his debut – it would have been way too big a risk for Gerrard to throw him in at the deep end anyway, so Kamara will keep his place.

With so much at stake, Gerrard has a big call to make – does he choose Ianis Hagi or Jordan Jones? As we previously discussed, we think he will opt for the more experienced Jones.

Meanwhile, Morelos should return to the starting XI after being called up by his country during the international break, which means Cedric Itten is set to miss out, while the ever-reliable Ryan Kent should start on the left wing.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must keep Glen Kamara at all costs after Pukki comments…

Spurs: Mourinho must unleash Joe Rodon over liability Davinson Sanchez

by rastrear-estafeta.com Uncategorized

He might not be able to play on Thursday night, but Tottenham Hotspur’s summer arrival, Joe Rodon, has to be the man to replace Toby Alderweireld going forward.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho was dealt one hell of a blow that put a massive dampener on their 2-0 win over Manchester City at the weekend as the Belgian centre-back went off injured in the second-half without coming into contact with an opposition player.

Alderweireld has played a big part in the north Londoners keeping three clean sheets in four matches.

Following the match, the Special One claimed: “It’s bad, it’s bad. It’s a muscular injury,” which may have to be taken with a pinch of salt but it would not be a shock considering he had played three international matches in just over a week beforehand.

There will be a temptation to bring Davinson Sanchez back into the fold having not made the matchday squad in any of their last four Premier League outings whilst he only made the bench last time out in the Europa League.

The one-time club-record £42m arrival, who is now worth €50m (£45m) will undoubtedly feature against Ludogorets this week and that’s a risk they can afford to make given the level in competition, but regardless of his performance, he can’t be trusted for their trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

A frontline involving Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz is a scary prospect as it is, it’ll only be made worse by putting a player dubbed a “liability” by many supporters next to Eric Dier, who is not a centre-back by trade himself.

An argument can easily be made against Rodon, considering his only top-flight experience has been a total of ten minutes across substitute appearances against Burnley and City, but he’s far more worth the gamble than an already-known calamity.

The Welshman’s ceiling is high having drawn comparisons to Rio Ferdinand and John Terry whilst journalist Dominic Booth added: “Rodon is a leader given his age, a bit of an old head on young shoulders. He’s good in the air despite not being a huge presence, and looks destined for bigger things.”

In his four appearances for Swansea before the switch, he averaged a whopping 7.8 clearances, 5.3 aerials won and 2.3 interceptions per game, via WhoScored.

His 6 foot 4 presence will be much-needed in the absence of Alderweireld. It’s on Mourinho to take that punt for the foreseeable future.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Winks: Jose must unleash “phenomenal” Spurs monster tipped as “future captain”…

Bale and Lo Celso start, no Alli: Predicted Spurs XI vs LASK

by rastrear-estafeta.com Uncategorized

Tottenham Hotspur kick off their Europa League campaign later this evening as they welcome Group J rivals LASK Linz to north London.

Jose Mourinho will be looking for a response from his squad after they threw away a three-goal lead over West Ham on Sunday night, though they remain unbeaten since an opening day defeat to Everton.

It is the Lilywhite’s first venture into the Europa League since 2017 after they were knocked out by Gent in the last 32 round having failed to make it past the group stages in the Champions League.

The congested fixture list this season, much of which Spurs have already had to deal with, gives Mourinho plenty to consider – so here’s how he could line up his starting XI here tonight…

There could be as many as six changes to the side that squandered those two additional points at the weekend.

Gareth Bale is in line to make his full debut after his cameo in the second half against the Hammers, he had a golden chance to win it late on but he was evidently rusty, so an hour or so from the off tonight makes a ton of sense.

Another player who could make their maiden Spurs bow is Carlos Vinicius, though he may have to wait with Harry Kane likely to get the nod to start.

Both Harry Winks and Lucas Moura were also brought on off the bench by Mourinho on Sunday, so they will surely be named in the starting lineup this time around with Moussa Sissoko and Heung-min Son being dropped, the latter is worthy of some much-needed rest.

In defence, both Ben Davies and Matt Doherty could come back into the side with Sergio Reguilon and Serge Aurier making way.

Joe Rodon isn’t eligible to play this evening, so a central defensive pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez seems likely with both Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga injured.

Giovani Lo Celso was confirmed to be back in training this week and he may well be handed a starting role over the £36m-rated Tanguy Ndombele, but there is still no place for Dele Alli.

Whilst Spurs youngster Jack Clarke could feature from the bench late on.

AND in other news, Fresh Spurs contract for £18m-rated LIABILITY would be a DISASTER waiting to happen…