Tottenham Hotspur go into their Europa League last 32 tie with Gent needing to overturn a one goal deficit.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Charlie Nicholas has told Sky Sports that despite expecting Mauricio Pochettino to make changes to his side, he is predicting that Tottenham will reach the last 16 of the Europa League with an emphatic second-leg victory over Gent at Wembley.
Despite Spurs’ stature, it would hardly be a surprise if they struggled to book their place in the next round. Pochettino’s men need to overturn a one goal deficit having lost in Belgium last week and it must not be forgotten that they struggled to make Wembley a fortress during their Champions League campaign, having lost two of their three group-stage games at the stadium.
Nevertheless, Nicholas is confident that even if they prioritise their upcoming league game with Stoke City, Tottenham will secure a spot in the next round in emphatic fashion.
“Tottenham were dreadful last Thursday but they found a way to bounce back against Fulham, which I thought as a dangerous tie,” he told Sky Sports.
“When Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Heung-Min Son are getting on the ball early then you know they are going to cause problems, and that was the difference between the two teams.
“They’ve got Stoke at home on Sunday so I think he’ll give a few more fringe players a chance than in the FA Cup, but Gent are an average team and I wouldn’t be surprised if Spurs won 3-0 even with a few changes.”
As Nicholas alluded to, Tottenham managed to put their defeat in Belgium largely behind them with an impressive victory over Fulham in the FA Cup at the weekend.
And with the race for the top four in the Premier League really beginning to kick into another gear, Pochettino will be urging his players to build some more momentum by dispatching Gent ahead of a run of league games up until the end of April that Tottenham could easily target taking maximum points from.
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