Another Thursday night game in Europe? Sigh. Tottenham Hotspur’s European adventure isn’t over, but it’s certainly a lot less prestigious than it once was. After crashing unceremoniously out of the Champions League in November, Spurs have landed with a thud into the knock-out rounds of the Europa League.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that this particular field of 32 remaining teams is, for the most part, pretty weak. That bodes well for Spurs if they can through a couple of rounds and into the quarterfinals. And it starts with a trip to Belgium today to face Gent.
The Buffaloes are currently eighth in the Juliper League this season, but they were good enough to make the Champions League Round of 16 last season. They’ve lost a few key players along the way and Belgian journalist Kristoff Terreur has even suggested they might rotate for this match and prioritize the league, which I find both slightly ironic and kind of hilarious.
For Spurs, logic dictates that with a week off from league matches and only an FA Cup tie against Fulham between the two Gent matches, they will probably start a (nearly) first choice team tonight and try and put the tie out of question right away. An emphatic away win means they can play the kids next Thursday at Wembley and rest their starters for Stoke City. But that all depends on how they do tonight. Spurs are a good side, but they haven’t exactly been fantastic away from home in Europe this season.
Nobody should underestimate the Buffaloes, but this is a match that Spurs really should win. Let’s hope they do.
COYS!
Lineups
#THFC: Lloris (C), Walker, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies, Wanyama, Dembele, Winks, Sissoko, Dele, Kane. #COYS pic.twitter.com/UZbL2fbguF
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 16, 2017
Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Eriksen, Onomah, Nkoudou, Son. #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 16, 2017
Line-up KAA Gent vs @SpursOfficial #gnttot #UEL pic.twitter.com/zmbbzbtcOw
— KAA Gent (@KAAGent) February 16, 2017
How to Watch
[Editor’s note: the big news in soccer broadcasting this week in the USA is that fubo.tv is now offering a new streaming package that includes access to the NBC family of networks, including NBC Sports Network. NBC is offered in some markets (but not all), and the service is currently in beta. A link is included below.]
Date/time: Thursday, February 16, 2017, 7 p.m. (Belgium), 6 p.m. (UK) 1 p.m. ET (USA)
Venue: GHELAMCO-arena, Ghent, Belgium
Official: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
TV: Fox Sports 1 (United States), BT Sport 3 (UK), beIN Sports (Canada), beIN Sports 1 (Australia), other listings at livesoccertv.com
Streaming: Fox Sports Go / Fox Soccer2Go, fubo.tv (free 7-day trial)
Radio: Audio streamed at tottenhamhotspur.com, also often at BBC Radio London,BBC Radio 5 Live, and TalkSport
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Have fun, and COYS!