please log in to view this image Thursday 11th March 8pm Europa League Round of 16 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 3 consecutive league wins as well as comfortable progress in Europe against Wolfsberger have lifted the mood. Our performances have been better and out style of football has improved dramatically, too. The next week will do a lot to decide how long that continues though, as well as the overall look of the season. Matches against Dinamo sandwich the trip to Woolwich and we need to get positive results from them all. Can Mourinho continue the current bump in form or will the Croatians derail the short resurgence? Dinamo Zagreb are the most successful side in their country's history. They've won the league 21 times and the cup 15 times since Croatia became independent in 1992. Formed from the ashes of HSK Gradanski in the wake of WWII, they initially played in Yugoslavia. They won 7 Yugoslav First League titles and 8 Yugoslav Cups, as well as a Fairs Cup and a Balkans Cup. That Fairs Cup victory came against English opposition, as they defeated Leeds 2-0 in 1967. The club is also renowned for producing talent, something which we've benefited from in recent history. Luka Modric, Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar all came through their academy on their way to Spurs. Other famous ex-players include Robert Prosinecki, Mario Mandzukic, Mark Viduka and Dani Olmo. No doubt some of their current squad will be looking to emulate their success in the future. Performing well on this stage would certainly boost any attempts to gain lucrative contracts elsewhere. Dinamo currently lead the Croatian First Football League, as they have for virtually the whole season. They're only a couple of points ahead of Osijek though, who handed them one of only three defeats they've had. They progressed through the Europa League by winning the group that Wolfsberger came 2nd in. They went undefeated, knocking out Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow, conceding only one goal in six games. 3rd place Russian team Krasnodar were their next opponents, as they won 4-2 on aggregate: No injury news yet, but it seems likely that Lo Celso will continue to be our only absentee. Moharrami misses out for the visitors. Neither side has any suspensions. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Lloris; Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon; Winks, Hojbjerg; Bale, Moura, Son; Kane. Subs: Hart, Dier, Davies, Sissoko, Ndombele, Alli, Bergwijn, Lamela, Vinicius. League form: WLLWWW. Dinamo: Livakovic; Ristovski, Lauritsen, Theophile-Catherine, Leovac; Jakic; Ivanusec, Majer, Ademi, Orsic; Petkovic. Subs: Zagorac, Cabraja, Tolic, Burton, Misic, Franjic, Atiemwen, Gavranovic, Kastati. League form: LWWWWW. Ref: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED). The youngest Dutch ref to take charge of international games. VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED). TV: BT ESPN. How would you like to line up for this one and what would you change from the Palace game? Would you stick with much of the same lineup, make a few changes or go for a wholesale switch? Which system and tactics would you use and what are you expecting Dinamo to go with?
Hart. Son, Alli. Lamela. Vini. Attack chosen based on squad rotation + NLD imminent + trust in Son only needing the first half to ensure the job gets done. Beyond that, who knows other than certain combos being less potent/safe (Docherty + Davies, Winks + Sissoko etc) ,
Lloris Doherty, Tanganga, Toby, Davies Sissoko, Ndombele Lamela, Dele, Bergwijn Vinicius Ideally get Tanguy off around 45-60. Have Kane, Son, Bale on the bench should they be required but that front four should be able to do damage against Zagreb.
Lo Celso has another minor injury, pain in his back in training so won't be involved in the game after having been talked about that this would've been his return match. What. A. Signing.
Starting to look like a serious sicknote isn’t he. Shame because I think he’s a terrific player when he’s fit but if that’s going to be even less regularly than Lamela, then it might be time to cut our losses if it means we can fit Sabitzer, for example, into the squad in the Summer.
People keep digging up stuff from his social media responding to current players and telling them they're his heroes. Thing is, it's all from the past five years or so, so he's anywhere from about 10-15. Mad that he's in the same team as them now, such a short time later.
I like the look of this team, but my gut feeling is he'll go 4-3-3 with a Sissoko-Winks-Tanguy midfield and Lamela, Vini, Dele up front.
Toughest game we will have had in this tournament so far...need to be on it tonight. Don’t really know much about the opposition but I expect them to have some bite about their game. I don’t think it’s one of them ties that we ‘will/can/should put to bed’ tonight.
A fair bit of rotation, but there'll definitely be a mixed reaction to it. Really need to start positively and use the five subs well.
Toby can’t play 3 times a week and he’s vital on sunday. I’d rather Tanganga than Dier though. However, that line up is strong enough to get a result I think maybe