Tottenham Hotspur near the end of a mammoth fixture congestion as they host Maccabi Haifa in the final round of Europa League qualifying on Thursday evening.
This single-legged play-off will be the seventh match José Mourinho's side have contested in the opening 19 days of a condensed season but an end is in sight - for now at least. The winners of Thursday's match progress to the competition's group stage but will then have their calendar swiftly stuffed once more with the matches that progression entails.
With the Israeli top flight suspended after the first two games, Maccabi Haifa have benefitted from a full week's rest, something Mourinho and his side will rarely experience this season if they continue to advance in every competition.
Where to Watch on TV
When Is Kick Off? Thursday 1 October
What Time Is Kick Off? 20:00 (BST)
Where Is it Being Played? Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
TV Channel/Live Stream? Premier Sports 1
Referee? Ruddy Buquet
Team News
Despite the dense schedule, Tottenham are remarkably unscathed going into Thursday's tie. Gareth Bale has been predicted to return to fitness after the October international break and Heung-min Son - after picking up a thigh injury against Newcastle United - is thought to be on a similar recovery trajectory.
Mourinho refused to confirm whether Dele Alli would feature in midweek but revealed that 'he's being very professional' and admitted 'it's possible' he will use the Englishman. After starting the opening game of the season, the 24-year-old has been left out of Tottenham's last two squads for matches against Newcastle and Chelsea.
Maccabi Haifa will be without former Norwich City player Yanic Wildschut after the winger tested positive for coronavirus.
Predicted Lineups
Tottenham: Hart; Doherty, Sanchez, Carter-Vickers, Sessegnon; Hojbjerg, Winks; Lucas, Lo Celso, Alli; Kane.
Maccabi Haifa: Cohen; Mabouka, Habshi, Arad, Menahem; Abu Fani, Lavi; Chery, Ashkenazi, Haziza; Rukavytsya.
Recent Form
Tottenham felt the full brunt of early season snap judgements after losing limply to Everton in their opening Premier League match. However, Mourinho has juggled his talented squad well so far, navigating through two rounds of Europa League qualifying while also recording a resounding 5-2 top flight win over Southampton.
A late and highly controversial penalty denied Spurs all the spoils at home to Newcastle on Sunday but Tottenham bounced back to edge Chelsea out of the Carabao Cup on penalties two days before they take on their Israeli opponents.
Maccabi Haifa have won all five of their matches this season but have conceded in each outing. Centre-forward Nikita Rukavytsya already has seven goals to his name in the nascent stages of the current campaign, including three in three Europa League games.
Here's how each side has fared in their last five outings.
Tottenham
Tottenham 1-1 (6-5) Chelsea (29/9)
Tottenham 1-1 Newcastle United (27/9)
Shkendija 1-3 Tottenham (24/9)
Southampton 2-5 Tottenham (20/9)
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1-2 Tottenham (17/9)
Maccabi Haifa
FK Rostov 1-2 Maccabi Haifa (24/9)
Maccabi Haifa 2-1 Kairat Almaty (17/9)
Maccabi Haifa 3-1 Hapoel Beer Sheva (13/9)
Maccabi Haifa 3-1 Zeljeznicar (9/9)
Hapoel Hadera 1-2 Maccabi Haifa (30/8)
Prediction
Mourinho's appointment at Tottenham was immediately followed by the assertion that, despite the (very real) possibility of player fallouts, the revered Portuguese coach will win silverware for a club who have only lifted one trophy this century.
It may take a mountain of games to get there, but the Europa League is one of the more realistic titles Tottenham can target this season, and as Mourinho said in the build up to Thursday's contest, 'we are going to have a good go'.
But first they must navigate their way past a Maccabi Haifa side who are far from a bye into the group stages. Tottenham's legs may be heavy but the quality and depth of their squad should see them over the line.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 Maccabi Haifa
Source: 90min
