Tottenham v Bodo/Glimt: Yves Bissouma axe on the cards
Tottenham are playing Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final on Thursday night.
Spurs got off to the best possible start in the game when they took an early lead against the Norwegian side.
Brennan Johnson scored in the first minute of the contest and James Maddison doubled their lead in the 34th minute.
Yves Bissouma puts in underwhelming first half display
While Ange Postecoglou will be pleased with how most of his Tottenham players have shown up, he will not be happy with Yves Bissouma.
Bissouma has been tidy in possession, but he has been erratic with his shooting, with two shots off target and one being blocked, per Sofascore.
His accuracy from long balls is 0 per cent – which is not ideal as Spurs will be looking for the long diagonals each time the Bodo defenders step up.
| Position | Club | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
| 15. | Everton | 34 | -7 | 38 |
| 16. | Tottenham | 34 | +6 | 37 |
| 17. | West Ham | 34 | -19 | 36 |
Apart from that, he’s also lost two out of three of his ground duels and that’s extremely crucial as losing the midfield battle can prove to be detrimental.
The Ivory Coast midfielder even lost possession twice and made two fouls and Postecoglou may look to make a change at the break.
Bissouma even got beat in the air and failed to win a single aerial duel all half.
Dejan Kulusevski can come off the bench for Tottenham
Postecoglou could look to bring on Dejan Kulusevski at half-time and give Spurs more of an attacking threat.
He can play Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison deeper and ask the Sweden international to play in the number 10 role.
Or, if he’s eyeing more control in the middle of the park, he may even fancy bringing on Pape Matar Sarr in place of Bissouma.
Another option for the Australian is to bring on Archie Gray, who prefers playing in a midfield position rather than in defence.
At 2-0, Spurs are in control of the contest, but a quick break can see the game open up again and Postecoglou must ensure his players do not get complacent and get the job done.