Tottenham Hotspur is aiming to secure their fifth consecutive win across all competitions when they face Ferencvaros at the Groupama Arena in Budapest for their Europa League match on Thursday evening. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs and Spurs' inaugural match against a Hungarian team.
Tottenham has turned things around after suffering back-to-back defeats in the Premier League against Newcastle (2-1) and Arsenal (1-0). They’ve won their last four matches in all competitions with an impressive aggregate score of 11-2.
Ange Postecoglou's team kicked off their Europa League campaign with a 3-0 home win against Qarabag, even playing with ten men for over 83 minutes. Just three days later, they defeated Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, where Bruno Fernandes received a red card just before halftime.
Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, and Dominic Solanke all contributed to the victory, helping Spurs climb to eighth in the Premier League, three points off the top four.
Currently, Tottenham is favored to win the Europa League this season, but they face Ferencvaros with a challenging away record, having won just one of their last nine European away games (D2, L6). Their lone victory during this stretch was a 2-1 win against Marseille in the Champions League back in November 2022.
While Tottenham has never faced Ferencvaros, Postecoglou has encountered the Hungarian side twice in his coaching career, leading Celtic to a 2-0 home win and a 3-2 away victory in the 2021-22 Europa League group stage.
On the other hand, Ferencvaros recently claimed their sixth consecutive Nemzeti Bajnoksag I title, finishing 16 points ahead of their nearest rival. This season, they’ve won 10, drawn 2, and lost 2 of their 14 competitive matches.
Ferencvaros missed out on the Champions League after losing to FC Midtjylland in the third qualifying round but secured their spot in the expanded Europa League by defeating FK Borac Banja Luka in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw over two legs.
Managed by London-born Dutch coach Pascal Jansen, Ferencvaros lost 2-1 to Anderlecht in their opening Europa League match, with Adama Traore scoring a late consolation goal.
However, they bounced back quickly, maintaining their perfect start in the Hungarian league with a 3-0 victory over Puskas Akademia, thanks to a second-half hat-trick from substitute Matheus Saldanha.
As Ferencvaros prepares for what could be their toughest challenge in this season's Europa League, they can find some confidence in their strong home record against English teams, having lost only one of their last ten European home games (W5, D4) against such opponents, the last defeat being a 3-0 loss to Leeds United in 1969.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Ferencvaros looks to be in good shape with a clean bill of health, and Jansen is expected to field his strongest starting lineup, making several changes from the team that defeated Puskas Akademia last weekend.
Endre Botka, Gabor Szalai, and Cristian Ramirez could be brought back to join Ibrahim Cisse in defense, though Raul Gustavo might keep his spot if Jansen opts for a back five. Philippe Rommens may step in for Habib Maiga to partner with Mohammad Abu Fani in central midfield.
Adama Traore might switch from the right to the left flank if Kady is brought back into the lineup, while Norwegian playmaker Kristoffer Zachariassen is likely to play centrally behind either Barnabas Varga or Matheus Saldanha up front.
On the Tottenham side, Radu Dragusin is suspended after his red card against Qarabag last week, and Richarlison (calf) and Wilson Odobert (hamstring) are still out due to injuries.
Postecoglou has confirmed that Destiny Udogie and Son Heung-min won’t play on Thursday; Udogie was substituted with a thigh issue during the win over Manchester United, while Son missed that match entirely with a hamstring problem.
The Spurs manager is considering making changes to his starting XI, with Archie Gray and Ben Davies likely to start as full-backs. Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, and Lucas Bergvall are all vying for spots in midfield.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Botka, Cisse, Szalai, Ramirez; Abu Fani, Rommens; Kady, Zachariassen, Traore; Varga
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Gray, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies; Sarr, Bissouma, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Werner
EXPERT PREDICTION
Ferencvaros 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Ferencvaros may be seen as one of the weaker teams in this season's Europa League, but they’ll be aiming to frustrate Tottenham on Thursday and shouldn’t be underestimated by Postecoglou’s squad. Still, even if the Australian manager decides to make changes to his starting lineup, it’s hard to bet against Spurs coming out on top in this matchup.