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Official: Ange Postecoglou names Tottenham Hotspur XI for Bodo/Glimt clash

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated May 8, 2025 2:19 PM ET

Ange Postecoglou has named a strong Tottenham Hotspur XI for the second leg of the Europa League semi-final vs Bodo/Glimt

Later on this evening, for undoubtedly the biggest game of the season thus far, Tottenham Hotspur take on Bodo/Glimt at the Aspmyra Stadion for the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final.

Spurs have taken a 3-1 advantage to the Arctic Circle, thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke. Bodo/Glimt pulled a goal back seven minutes from time, which was such a blow for the Lilywhites after dominating the first leg for large periods.

Notably, Tottenham are tonight missing two of their captains and three of their most creative players for this big game. Skipper Son Heung-min has failed to recover from a foot problem and subsequently not travelled with the squad to Norway. James Maddison (knee) and Lucas Bergvall (ankle) has suffered untimely injuries and ruled out for the rest of the season, with the former expected to be sidelined for up to three months.

Yves Bissouma has deputised for the injured Bergvall, while Kulusevski fills in for the creative Maddison in the middle of the park. Bentancur, as usual, anchors the midfield.

The good news is Dominic Solanke has recovered fully from a minor issue that was enough to keep him out of the weekend’s draw with West Ham. The England international starts here, tasked with leading the Tottenham attack. Richarlison takes the spot on the left flank, and Brennan Johnson comes back into the XI at the expense of Wilson Odobert.

Ange’s back five includes Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven and Udogie. Barring Vicario, the rest of the quartet were unused substitutes in the 1-1 draw with West Ham, so they are all fresh to start against Bodo/Glimt.

Romero partners Van de Ven in central defence, with Porro and Udogie operating as the full-backs in a strong-looking Spurs defence that will want to nullify a potent Bodo/Glimt attack. The likes of Odobert, Sarr, Gray and Richarlison could be called upon off the bench when required.

The side tasked with beating Bodo/Glimt today and advancing to the Europa League final in Bilbao is as follows: Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski; Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson

Let’s hope our boys do what is asked of them on a tricky plastic pitch and advance to a European final for the first time after six long years.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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