Tottenham’s season might be a disaster in the English Premier League, but things look much better in the Europa League. It finished the group stage in 4th place, which put the team through to the 1/8 finals. There it met up with AZ Alkmaar and ended up losing the first clash 1-0.
But, Spurs took the initiative in the second leg and crushed the Dutch side 3-1 or 3-2 on aggregate. Now, the team from north London will face Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals.
The Betting Odds Favoured Tottenham Against AZ Alkmaar
Most bookmakers gave Tottenham 0.5/1 (1.50) odds for beating AZ Alkmaar, making Spurs the ultimate favourite. The team started the match with full dominance. It took the side 26 minutes to score thanks to Wilson Odobert’s strike and Dominic Solanke’s assist.
Spurs finished the first half with 60% ball possession and 9 goal attempts. The fine performance continued in the second half as James Maddison scored the second goal in the 48th minute.
But, AZ Alkmaar didn’t hold back and started attacking more. This initiative resulted in a goal in the 63rd minute by Peer Koopmeiners. The goal leveled the aggregate score at 2-2.
It took Tottenham 9 minutes to get the lead again and put them in favour of progressing through to the next stage. The goal came after a second assist from Domini Solanke and another finish by Wilson Odobert.
Despite the Europa League progress, Ange Postecoglou’s job is still very much at risk. According to The Sack Race, the odds for Tottenham firing him go between 5/2 (3.50) and 3/1 (4). The main favourites to take over as head coach are Andoni Iraola, Mauricio Pochettino, Marco Silva, and Thomas Frank.
Facing Eintracht Frankfurt in the Quarter-Finals
The new format didn’t quite favour Tottenham as they ended up getting Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals. Bookmakers see Spurs as favourites, but no one should write off the German side.
This is a team that’s currently fighting for a Champions League spot while Tottenham is battling in mid-table. Frankfurt also had a positive experience in the Europa League as it managed to win it in season 2021/22.
During the group stage, Eintracht Frankfurt finished in 5th place, just one point short of Tottenham. The Germans beat Besiktas, RFS, Slavia Prague, Midtjylland, and Ferencvaros. But, they also lost to Lyon and Roma and drew against Viktoria Plzen.
This means that they tend to struggle against top clubs, not including Viktoria Plzen. Such statistics favour Tottenham as they are at the same level or slightly higher than Roma and Lyon.
However, we must not forget that Frankfurt went past Ajax in the 1/8 finals. This team trashed the Dutch side 1-2 in the first and 4-1 in the second leg.
Fans should know that Tottenham played a total of 25 matches against German teams. It won 11, lost 11, and drew on 3 events. In terms of goals, it scored 32 and conceded 35. These statistics show that the match against Frankfurt can be anybody’s game.
Tottenham also has 4 straight losses in a row against German clubs. One of them is the painful 2-7 defeat against Bayern Munich at home during the 2019/20 Champions League group stage.
Tottenham’s Europa League Winning Odds
Spurs are among the top 3 favourites to win the 2025 Europa League. Most bookmakers set the odds at 4/1 (5.00) for this actually happening. Only two teams are above Tottenham in terms of odds.
First on the list is Athletic Bilbao with odds set at 10/3 (4.33). Next up is Manchester United with 7/2 (4.5) winning odds. But, only one of these clubs can go through to the final as their path crosses in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Tottenham will meet with Lazio or Bodo/Glimt in the next stage if it goes past Eintracht Frankfurt. The first leg against the German club is on April 10th while the second clash will take place on April 17th.
April will be a tough month for Spurs as it will also face Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, and Liverpool. All we can do now is wait and see how Tottenham will deal with this tough schedule.
