Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham: Thomas Frank to change shape with Xavi Simons no.10 role decision made

Tottenham head to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League, here is your London World predicted starting XI.

Tottenham return to Champions League action with a lengthy trip to the north pole on the cards.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank acknowledges the crowd at the final whistle after the Carabao Cup third round match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Doncaster Rovers. Grant McCann reveals that Frank praises two of his forwards following the game. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire.

placeholder image — Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank acknowledges the crowd at the final whistle after the Carabao Cup third round match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Doncaster Rovers. Grant McCann reveals that Frank praises two of his forwards following the game. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire.

Bodo/Glimt might not be on the doorstep of Father Christmas, however, Thomas Frank and his team will have set off early to make the journey to face Norway’s champions and the enigma that is Kjetil Knutsen.

Having had several offers to leave the Eliteserien, the 56-year old manager continues to break records with the team he has been at since 2018. Spurs have recent experience of the journey north, having played Bodo/Glimt on their way to Europa League success.

Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham predicted XI

Currently second in the league but only a point behind and with a game in hand, Bodo will be full prepared to face Spurs given that they are 22 games into their league campaign and having played nearly 30 games this season. It is a fixture that probably would have been better towards the end of the eight-game fixture list.

Frank still has a lengthy injury list with key players like Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski missing from the forward line and Radu Dragusin missing from the defence. The latter is out of the club’s Champions League squad due to his long-term injury. Ben Davies is 50/50 and Randal Kolo Muani might just be fit enough for a place on the bench which makes the Spurs boss’ team selection a little bit easier.

In defence, there hasn’t been much rotation other than in the full-back positions, Destiny Udogie returned at left-back against Wolves at the weekend and he should keep his place with Djed Spence squeezing out Pedro Porro.

There isn’t much between the right-backs but Spence has the edge in the final third. In the middle of defence, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven should continue as the first choice pairing.

Midfield should see a flatter three in a 4-3-3 rather than the 4-3-2-1 that has been deployed recently with Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall combining once again, albeit in a slightly different shape. Bodo will be a tough nut to crack and winning the midfield battle could be the deciding factor towards getting all three points.

Due to the players who are missing, Frank’s options are limited in attack, however, this doesn’t mean that he will be fielding an understrength forward line. Mohamed Kudus, Richarlison and Xavi Simons have a good mix of dribbling, passing and physicality plus all three are capable of scoring goals if they are provided with the right ammunition.

Predicted Spurs XI: Vicario, Spence, Udogie, Romero, Van de Ven, Palhina, Bentancur, Bergvall, Kudus Richarlison, Simons.

What Frank has said about Simons playing as a no.10

On Simons, much of the discourse recently has been about the Netherlands international having to play in a wider position rather than his preferred central, or no.10 role, a point that was raised to Frank after the 1-1 draw with Wolves.

When asked if the 22-year old was struggling to get up to speed, he said to the official Spurs website: "No, I think it's trying to get the right balance into the team. For me, also to learn and find out how we can get the best players on the pitch at the right time.

“So, that I'm of course looking into. I'm very aware that Xavi he can play as a 10. He also got in as a 10 against Brighton because that was the third game in a week. That was positive. I think today when he got in as a 10, it didn't really work, and that was not only because of him, by the way. I think the whole team was out of sync in the last 35 minutes.

“I'll try to look into what is the best midfield. I think it's fair to say both Rodri and Joao have been very good for us so far in the season, and Lucas has been fantastic, so you like to keep your players that are a little bit in the flow."

Frank isn’t quite putting a square peg in a round hole, but when everyone is fit, Simons might well move into the middle, however, that is unlikely to be against Bodo when an entire alternate attack is missing.