Ange Postecoglou goes strong! There are starts for Son Heung-min and Micky van de Venn, as well as appearances for Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall. Exciting team? It’s six changes from the Brentford game but the same front three.

Spurs XI: Vicario; Gray, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Davies; Bissouma, Sarr, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Qarabag FK: Kochalski, Matheus Silva, Mustafazade, Bayramov, Badavi Huseynov, Cafarquliyev, Benzia, Patrick Andrade, Romao, Zoubir, Juninho

Son Heung-min on fixture schedule:

“You don’t want to see players struggling with injuries. No one wants to see it. A lot of games, a lot of travelling. We’ve got to look after ourselves, which sometimes is very hard.

“Mentally, physically, you’re not ready. Then going on to the pitch and then the risk of injury is massive. We’re not robots. Don’t get me wrong, we love playing football. That’s clear.

“It’s about adding more games. City played Sunday and Tuesday and it wasn’t even flexible. It could be moved probably to play Wednesday instead of Tuesday. It’s not flexible. That’s what we’re talking about.

“It’s normal that everyone is at high risk of injury. It’s not fair. Rodri said the right things. We play 50, 60 games and not more than 70 games. When the fixtures come, the players have to play. There’s a lot going on.”

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou and captain Son Heung-min have both insisted the growing football schedule must be addressed.

Spurs begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday at home to Qarabag and the initial phase of the competition has been extended to eight games instead of six, which is also the same for the Champions League.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri suggested last week that players could strike over the increasing fixture congestion before days later he suffered a serious knee injury.

“They may take things into their own hands. They’re the ones most affected to be honest, so you would understand if they started to think as a collective, how much are we going to have to continually not have a say in?” Postecoglou explained.

Oct 3: vs Ferencvaros (A)

Jan 23: vs Hoffenheim (A)

2024-25: Europa League, under Ange Postecoglou

2022-23: Champions League, under Antonio Conte

Round of 16: lost 1-0 to Milan

2021-22: Conference League, under Nuno Espirito Santo and then Antonio Conte

Group stage: Knocked out after Rennes match was called off

2020-21: Europa League, under Jose Mourinho

Round of 16: Lost 3-2 on aggregate to Dinamo Zagreb

2019-20: Champions League, under Maurcio Pochettino and then Jose Mourinho

Round of 16: Lost 4-0 on aggregate to RB Leipzig

Thursday night football returns to Tottenham. This is the club’s first Europa League season since under Jose Mourinho in 2020-21, where they reached the round of 16 before blowing a 2-0 lead in the first leg and losing to Dinamo Zagreb.

That just about sums out Tottenham’s adventures in Europe over the last five years, or since reaching the Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino. Neither Mourinho nor Antonio Conte could do what Pochettino managed and get Spurs into a European final.

So how about Ange Postecoglou?

Cristian Romero is suspended for Spurs, with Ange Postecoglou likely to rotate elsewhere. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall should get another chance to impress, while teenager Mikey Moore may also receive an opportunity with Wilson Odobert injured. Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon were left out of the Tottenham squad for this competition.

Tottenham vs Qarabag is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Thursday 26 September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage on the channel from 7pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via discovery+.

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Tottenham Hotspur begin their Europa League campaign against Qarabag as Ange Postecoglou’s side return to European competition.

Spurs were not involved in Europe last season and missed out on Champions League qualification in Postecoglou’s first campaign in charge. The Australian has set his sights on winning a trophy in his second season at Spurs, and the Europa League is a real opportunity for Tottenham to end their wait for silverware – but the club previously struggled in Europe under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

Can they get off to a winning start tonight?