Postecoglou to axe Johnson – Tottenham predicted XI v Frankfurt
Ange Postecoglou could take a risk by axing Brennan Johnson in two changes when Tottenham host Eintracht Frankfurt.
Postecoglou is set for arguably the biggest game of his career as Spurs welcome Frankfurt to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday (10 April) for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last-eight showdown.
It seems that lifting the Europa League could be the only way for Postecoglou to avoid the sack at Tottenham.
Therefore, the Australian needs a win against Frankfurt and could take a big risk to secure that win by leaving Johnson on the bench in two changes on Thursday.
Postecoglou to axe Ben Davies for Tottenham v Frankfurt
Guglielmo Vicario started between the sticks as Spurs beat Southampton 3-1 in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (6 April), and although he failed to keep a clean sheet, the Italian did make three saves [Sofascore] and will expect to keep his place.
In defence, Postecoglou could make one of his two changes by replacing Ben Davies, who completed 93 per cent of his passes against the Saints, with Micky van de Ven, while Cristian Romero starts alongside the Dutchman.
| Fixture | Date | Venue |
| Tottenham v Eintracht Frankfurt | 10 April | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium |
| Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham | 17 April | Deutsche Bank Park |
Djed Spence grabbed an assist and completed 98 per cent of his passes on Sunday and could once again start at left-back while Pedro Porro keeps his place on the right flank after winning eight ground duels and playing three key passes against Southampton.
In midfield, Postecoglou is likely to go unchanged, with James Maddison providing an assist and completing 96 per cent of his passes last time out, while Rodrigo Bentancur won 100 per cent of his ground duels and Lucas Bergvall played two key passes.
Postecoglou to axe Johnson for Tottenham v Frankfurt
Johnson scored twice against Southampton and could have potentially had a hattrick after winning a penalty if not for a contentious incident involving Mathys Tel, who took and scored the spot-kick instead.
However, the Welshman also completed just 73 per cent of his passes and failed to provide an accurate cross from four attempts, and could therefore make way for Wilson Odobert, who was the preferred option and scored twice in Spurs’ last Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar.
Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke and Son Heung-min are likely to keep their places despite disappointing performances against Southampton, with Solanke succeeding with only one of his three attempted dribbles while Son won just 30 per cent of his duels.