Out-of-form Tottenham host Swedish side Elfsborg in the Europa League on Thursday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups included within our match preview ahead of the action.
Tottenham vs Elfsborg Preview
Despite their downfalls domestically, Tottenham have done well in the Europa League for the most part this term, and they return to action on Thursday night against Swedish outfit Elfsborg for their final league phase tie.
Spurs head into the last round of fixtures occupying sixth place in the table, five points adrift of unbeaten leaders Lazio, and a win on MD8 will secure automatic qualification for the round of 16.
Last time out, on MD7, the North Londoners sealed a 3-2 victory over Bundesliga side Hoffenheim despite a second-half scare, marking an end to their three-game winless run in the competition.
Following on from that though, Ange Postecoglou‘s side suffered a 2-1 defeat to relegation battlers Leicester City on Sunday, which extended their winless run in the Premier League to a shocking seven straight matches.
Our final @EuropaLeague fixture of the league phase is up next â© pic.twitter.com/p1bMxhoBdT
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 29, 2025
As for Elfsborg, they are four points behind Tottenham down in 20th place after 1-0 wins over Nice and Qarabag on MD6 and MD7, two points clear of 25th-placed Porto in the elimination zone.
A draw would almost certainly confirm their advancement to the knockout stages via the play-offs, however that won’t come easy, as they have lost seven of their last eight away matches on the continent.
Di Gule‘s domestic campaign drew to a close in November, with a 0-0 draw against Varnamo on the final day confirming a seventh place finish in the Swedish Allsvenskan. Since then, they have played a few friendlies, beating Djurgarden 3-0 and Hacken 5-1, while losing 2-0 to Polish Ekstraklasa side Stal Mielec.
Tottenham Team News
The hosts’ lengthy absentee list remains heading into this one, with all of Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Dominic Solanke (knee), Brennan Johnson (calf), Timo Werner (hamstring) and Wilson Odobert (hamstring) ruled out.
Djed Spence (knock), Pape Sarr (fitness), Micky van de Ven (thigh), James Maddison (fatigue), Cristian Romero (thigh) and Richarlison (groin), meanwhile, are all doubts and face late fitness tests ahead of the tie.
January signing Antonin Kinsky is ineligible to feature in the Europa League league phase for Spurs, therefore Brandon Austin should return to the lineup after starting in the win over Hoffenheim on MD7.
Elfsborg Team News
In complete opposite fortunes to Tottenham, Elfsborg boast a clean bill of health and have a full squad to choose from.
Given their impressive win over Nice last time out, you’d have to assume that the starting lineup will remain largely unchanged, with Arber Zeneli, Jalal Abdullai and Gottfrid Rapp likely to form the frontline.
Besfort Zeneli and Ahmed Qasem should retain their starting berths in central midfield, although Timoth Ouma is also an option, while Sebastian Holmen, Gustav Henriksson and Terry Yegbe are tipped to start in defence.
Tottenham vs Elfsborg Predicted Lineups
Tottenham Predicted Lineup:
Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Bergvall, Bissouma, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Son, Moore
Elfsborg Predicted Lineup:
Petterson; Holmen, Henriksson, Yegbe; Hedlund, B. Zeneli, Qasem, Hult; A. Zeneli, Abdullai, Rapp
Tottenham vs Elfsborg Prediction
The UK’s best football betting sites heavily favour Tottenham to prevail on Wednesday night at around 1/5, while an unlikely win for Elfsborg is priced at 11/1 and a draw is valued at around 13/2.
Despite Spurs’ poor form recently, we at SportsCasting are backing the North Londoners to come out on top against their Swedish counterparts but expect the visitors to give a good account of themselves in the English capital.
Elfsborg have proven, with wins over Nice, Qarabag and Roma and a draw with Braga, that they aren’t pushovers in this competition, which is why we’re predicting a narrow 2-1 win for the hosts.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 Elfsborg
