Tottenham Hotspur need to avoid defeat against CSKA Moscow tomorrow evening to qualify for the Europa League.
Mauricio Pochettino has hinted to the Hertfordshire Mercury that he intends to play Tottenham Hotspur’s youngsters in the Europa League, if his side qualify.
Tottenham need to avoid defeat in their final Champions League match, which comes against CSKA Moscow tomorrow, to ensure that they finish in third place in their group and make it into the knockout stages of the Europa League.
While Spurs would have been hoping to avoid playing a Europa League match this season at the start of the new campaign, Pochettino now feels that it could be a good opportunity for his side, as it would enable him to play some of his younger players in the competition.
“For the squad it’s important to be involved in different competitions,” he said. “We have lots of younger players that, maybe, they need to play, and they need to get the experience that you need to play in Europe.”
The winners of the Europa League do automatically qualify for the Champions League now, meaning Spurs would have another route into Europe’s top competition if they did quality.
However, there are concerns that a lengthy European campaign could be detrimental to Tottenham’s league form.
Spurs are aiming to finish in the top four for the second season running this term, and they currently are sat just outside the Champions League qualification places.
As things stand, Spurs are three points behind fourth placed Manchester City – but without Champions League football to play in midweek, their squad should be less stretched for the rest of the campaign.
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