Excluding the North London Derby, Tottenham’s last four games have produced over 2.5 goals including both of their last two games against Coventry and Brentford. Tottenham have only managed to keep one clean sheet so far this season coming against Everton, Qarabag may even have enough to deny them a clean sheet in this opening Europa League clash.

Qarabag’s six league games so far this season have seen 20 goals (3.3 per 90), their last three trips away from Azerbaijan have all seen over 2.5 goals. They’ll fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet at least once against a Tottenham backline that is yet to really convince and is further weakened by the absence of Cristian Romero who is out suspended.

Tottenham’s games in the Premier League last season saw an average of 3.5 goals per game, although this is a different competition we shouldn’t see a massive change of approach from Ange Postecoglou which will probably mean Tottenham will have to score more than once to claim all three points with Qarabag offering plenty of threat in attacking areas that can disrupt a shaky Spurs defence.

Brennan Johnson has responded well after criticism from his own fans for his performance in the North London Derby, the Welsh international has scored in each of his last two games and has had at least one shot on target in all three games since the international break against Arsenal, Brentford and Coventry.

Johnson has had 15 shots in total across his five appearances so far this season (3.85 per 90) with five of these efforts hitting the target (1.28 per 90). He’s hit some form over the last few fixtures which Ange Postecoglou shouldn’t want to disturb too much so he should survive the expected rotation of the Spurs side with Manchester United to come at the weekend.

Johnson averaged 0.81 shots on target per 90 across his 35 Premier League appearances last season, he’s started this season with a slightly higher average and comes into this fixture with plenty of momentum after two solid performances. He’ll be looking for consistency and can be backed to hit the target at least once. Qarabag conceded 11 shots on target over 2 legs in their Champions League Qualifier exit to Dinamo Zagreb.

Benzia sits at the heart of Qarabag’s midfield which may have a more defensive minded attitude to it against what is forecasted to be another positive Spurs midfield. Ange Postecoglou has been lining up with Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison as attacking 10s leaving Rodrigo Bentancur as the lone holding midfielder. Rotation is expected but it’s likely the Tottenham midfield has a similar structure to it which could cause a real headache for Benzia who averaged 1.74 fouls committed per 90 across 10 Europa League appearances last season.

Benzia is traditionally an attacking midfielder but he’ll probably be asked to do a job defensively for his side away from home where Qarabag won’t much of the ball, Tottenham have averaged 63.7% possession per game in their Premier League games so far this season winning 61 fouls across their opening five fixtures of the season (12.2 per 90).

Benzia could have the difficult job of tracking James Maddison who has won 11 fouls across his five Premier League appearances so far this season (2.43 per 90). Maddison averaged 3.09 fouls won per 90 across 28 Premier League appearances last season making him one of the most fouled players in the Premier League. Tottenham’s domination of the ball should frustrate Qarabag, tempting them and Benzia in particular to make a few lazy fouls.

Tottenham are set to dominate the ball in this encounter with the lilywhites currently averaging 63.7% possession per game, only Manchester City have had more of the ball in the opening five games of the Premier League season. This trend is set to continue against Qarabag who are well fancied to be on the losing end of the result on Thursday night.

Tottenham’s opponents have committed 61 fouls against them across their opening five games of the Premier League season (12.2 per 90). This has resulted in nine yellow cards being brandished to their opponents over these five games, leaving the average just short of the two cards we’ll need for Qarabag in this selection.

Qarabag collected the third most cards of any team in the Europa League last season (25) with the Azerbaijani side also collecting the most red cards of any team (3). They averaged 11.7 fouls per 90 which suggests when they foul it can tempt the referee to reach for his pocket.

Brennan Johnson has picked up some form over the last few weeks with a last minute winner to spare Tottenham’s blushes against Coventry and a goal against Brentford accompanied by a celebration in response to the criticism he’s faced over the last few months.

Johnson returned 15 goal contributions (five goals, 10 assists) across his 35 Premier League appearances last season which is a solid return for a player in his debut season at a top-six club. He’s now got a proper striker in Dominic Solanke which should aid his chance creation numbers which have yet to show this season, he averaged 1.78 chances created per 90 in the Premier League last season.

Qarabag are the perfect opponent for Johnson to continue with his flurry of form over the last few games, they can’t match the quality of Tottenham in any area of the pitch and are in for a tough afternoon against a Spurs side that will take plenty of confidence from their 3-1 win over Brentford last time out. Tottenham should be able to get on the scoresheet a few times with our focus on Johnson to contribute at least once.

No Qarabag player was shown more yellow cards during their Europa League campaign last season than Julio Romao (5). The reckless centre back/defensive midfielder picked up a yellow card both home and away against Bayer Leverkusen and Braga last season suggesting that when faced by top European sides, he struggles.

He’ll be up against Dominic Solanke who got off the mark for Spurs in their 3-1 victory over Brentford on the weekend and will be eager to continue to make an impression, he’s won six fouls across his three Premier League appearances so far this season (2.00 per 90). He could also find himself up against James Maddison if he is deployed in defensive midfield, Maddison averaged 3.09 fouls won per 90 last season.

Romao was also booked in both of Qarabag’s away fixtures during Champions League qualifying against Ludogorets and Dinamo Zagreb, he’ll face his toughest task of the season yet at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and will likely be starved of the ball leading to a frustration which could boil over and tempt the referee to brandish a card in his direction.

When assessing Qarabag’s potential attacking threat in this game, Juninho stands out as a player that can cause a shaky Tottenham backline problems. The Brazilian striker scored five goals across 10 appearances in Qarabag’s Europa League campaign last season in which he had 23 shots (2.60 per 90) with 11 of these efforts finding the target (1.25 per 90).

Juninho scored both home and away against Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 of the Europa League last season, he had four shots on target across the two legs showing that he can be a handful even against far superior opposition. Tottenham’s defence has come into question again early on in the season, they’ve only managed to keep one clean sheet in all competitions which came against Everton.