3 biggest keys to victory for Tottenham vs. Bodo Glimt in UEL semifinals | OneFootball

Tottenham will face Bodo Glimt at home in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday night, knowing that winning the entire competition would put them in next season's Champions League.

Here are the three biggest keys to victory for Tottenham this week.

Mathys Tel needs to shine

It doesn't look like Son Heung-min will be available against Bodo Glimt with a nagging foot injury, so the starting left wing job is entirely Mathys Tel's. The right side of the Bodo Glimt back four is a little more vulnerable than the left, which means Tel will have the best matchup for Spurs and the most shooting opportunities.

Tel has a prodigious amount of talent, and Tottenham are seriously contemplating keeping him permanently. The Bayern Munich loanee can make their decision easier and even increase his transfer value by performing at a high level in this game.

While Tel has flashed the ability to create chances for himself and others, the overall end product still hasn't been evident for Tottenham. He is young, but at a 50 million euro price point, Spurs will want to see him force the issue in this one.

Don't let Jens-Petter Hague take over

Bodo Glimt have one internationally known player in young forward Jens-Petter Hauge, who once played for AC Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt. Although you could see glimpses of his potential in the Bundesliga, Hauge's career never took off, and he even struggled to make an impression or get into the starting lineup at Gent in Belgium.

Now with Bodo Glimt, Hauge has been the main attacking force behind the underdog story and their Europa League semifinal appearance. The versatile 25-year-old forward is the one player on Bodo Glimt who can seriously hurt Tottenham, and after Spurs surrendered five to Liverpool at the weekend, they have to be on high alert against a talented forward with 5 goal contributions, 2.4 dribbles per game, and 1.8 key passes per match in the current Europa League campaign.

Tottenham can't make any defensive errors

The big story in Spurs recent Premier League losses has been defensive errors. Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made two back-breaking ones early in a 4-2 loss to Wolves, and he and Cristian Romero were both highly culpable in a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest. And then let's not even get started with the overall tactical and off-ball disasterclass of a debacle this past weekend at Anfield.

Romero has one foot out the door, but you had better believe Diego Simeone will be watching and unafraid to pull his interest in the Argentinian center back if he stinks it up in a must-win semifinal. Simeone doesn't want characters like that in his dressing room, and Romero, like he did in the second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt, has to step up to the plate on Thursday night.

It needs to be a team effort. Nobody can slip up and make unforced errors, because that is exactly how Bodo Glimt will beat them. Tottenham must be disciplined - even under an undisciplined coach - and avoid any rash challenges, sloppy backpasses, mental lapses, or flailing goalkeeping to avoid an easy upset to Bodo Glimt.