Tottenham supporters have questioned Jose Mourinho’s judgement after the Spurs boss named Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in the starting line-up to face Dinamo Zagreb this evening.
Mourinho has made seven changes for the Europa League last-16 tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Spurs’ top-scorers remain in the side.
Alongside captain Hugo Lloris and centre-back Davinson Sanchez, they are the only players to retain their places from the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on the weekend.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Lucas Moura, Gareth Bale, Harry Winks, Toby Alderweireld, Matt Doherty and Sergio Reguilon all drop out of the starting line-up.
Serge Aurier comes in for Doherty at right-back, while Eric Dier and Ben Davies also come into a rejigged defence.
Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele will play behind Dele Alli, with Erik Lamela supporting the trusted strike partnership of Kane and Son.
It is a strong-looking line-up from Mourinho, who clearly wants to get off to a fast start against Zagreb, but fans are concerned about the implications for the north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday.
Tottenham: Lloris; Aurier, Dier, Sanchez, Davies; Sissoko, Ndombele, Dele, Lamela, Son, Kane.
Here is what fans made of the team on Twitter.
Mourinho’s side beat Wolfsberger AC 8-1 on aggregate to reach the last-16, while Dinamo Zagreb saw off Russian side Krasnodar 4-2 over two legs.
Tottenham come into the match full of confidence following a run of four successive wins in all competitions.
Spurs have moved back into top-four contention in the Premier League with victories over Burnley, Fulham and Crystal Palace in recent weeks.
Mourinho has had to balance this tie with the looming consideration of Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal, who play Olympiacos this evening.
Zagreb won’t be pushovers this evening, with the Croatian side having won their last six matches in the Europa League.
However, they have a poor record against English sides, having lost nine of their last 10 in European competitions.
