Tottenham v Elfsborg LIVE: Team news and line-ups ahead of Europa League fixture tonight

Dejan Kulusevski is convinced Ange Postecoglou is the right man for Tottenham and will fight to help his under-pressure head coach achieve “big things” during the rest of the season.

Spurs slipped to a sixth loss from their last seven Premier League fixtures on Sunday, with a dismal 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester increasing the scrutiny on Postecoglou.

Postecoglou has battled with an injury crisis over the last two months and will be without 12 players for Thursday’s Europa League game against Elfsborg, but the Australian has repeatedly stated his belief that Tottenham – well placed in three cup competitions – can enjoy a special season.

“Yeah, I agree with him,” Kulusevski said. “Three cups, we’re doing really well in the cups so it’s easy to focus on league, but we’re doing really well in the cups.

“This is an important game and if we win we go to the next round, so I think we can do big things in these last four months.”

Here is how the two sides could line up tonight:

Tottenham: Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Bissouma, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Moore, Son.

Elfsborg: Petterson; Buhari, Holmen, Yegbe; Hedlund, B Zeneli, Ouma, Hult; A Zeneli, Abdullai, Rapp.

Tottenham centre-back Micky van de Ven will make his comeback in the game. Van de Ven has not featured for Spurs since a 4-3 loss to Chelsea on December 8, which was his first appearance in five weeks following a hamstring strain.

James Maddison will be absent for two to three weeks with a calf injury, but Yves Bissouma trained on Wednesday and will be available alongside Pape Sarr. Richarlison also featured in training after he was forced off on Sunday.

Guglielmo Vicario was involved in the session alongside his fellow goalkeepers, although is not expected to be in contention yet. Cristian Romero was described as a “slow burner” amid an expectation he could be back for this weekend’s trip to Brentford.

The Europa League game kicks off at 8pm GMT tonight, Thursday 30 January, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 2, with coverage on the TV channel from 7.30pm GMT. Subscribers can stream via discovery+.

Spurs come into the final night of the initial league phase in sixth place and victory would guarantee them a top-eight finish and therefore automatic qualification to the knockout rounds.

However, a draw or defeat could see them knocked down from one of the top eight spots and sent into the play-offs, meaning an extra two fixtures for Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged squad to navigate before reaching the last 16.

Elfsborg are currently in their off-season after finishing seventh in the 2024 Swedish top flight. They have plenty to play for too, lying 20th as they aim to finish in the top 24 and qualify for the play-offs.

Good evening and welcome along to live coverage of Tottenham v Elfsborg in the Europa League.

We’ll have all the team news and build-up to kick-off before updates from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs aim to book their place in the last 16.