LASK vs Tottenham Hotspur 04/12/20

Tottenham Hotspur head to the Raiffeisen Arena to take on LASK Linz, looking to avoid a defeat that will ensure they qualify for the UEFA Europa League knock-out stage.

The hosts have won two of their opening four Europa League group stage games, losing the other two, with four of those results (win/loss) seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet. Scoring the opening goal could, therefore, proved decisive for the outcome of this clash, especially as each of LASK’s last seven home matches in the competition proper has seen the victor get on the scoresheet first (W5, L2). Additionally, a 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture on Matchday 1 means ‘Die Schwarz-Weißen’ have lost all of their three historical European meetings with the Premier League clubs, returning a disastrous -9 goal difference from those clashes (GF: 1, GA: 10). Second-half action is well on the cards, considering both of LASK’s Europa League home games this term have produced over 1.5 goals after half-time.

As for the visitors, they have won three of their opening four matches in Group J, losing the remaining one ‘to nil.’ If the ‘Spurs’ pick up the victory here, they are likely to do it with some dignity, given that each of their three group stage triumphs so far came by at least a two-goal margin. Notably, Jose Mourinho’s men often tend to start their Europa League fixtures fast, as evidenced by the fact they’ve netted over 1.5 goals within 35 minutes of play three times this season. Tottenham have avoided defeat in each of their five previous away matches versus Austrian hosts (W4, D1), but it’s worth noting that this will be their first trip to Austria since 1991.