Tottenham duo fire team news hints for Villarreal as Thomas Frank to unleash new partnership

Tottenham are back in the Champions League for the 2025/26 season with Spanish side Villarreal as their first opponents. Spurs' bright start under new head coach Thomas Frank continued this past Saturday as they beat London rivals West Ham 3-0.

From their opening four Premier League games, the Lilywhites have taken nine points, kept three clean sheets, and conceded just once. Focus will now switch to Europe, with Frank asked if his side can go all the way.

"I believe I have a fantastic squad, and we would like to go as far as possible," he said at a press conference, previewing the clash.

"When you’re in a competition, you ultimately want to try and win it, but I think the most important thing is one game at a time. We have a game against Villarreal tomorrow. A very good team. I have been very impressed when I have studied them, but we will do everything we can to get a good start."

Frank has the bulk of his Tottenham squad available, but Dominic Solanke is set to remain out with an ankle injury. Randal Kolo Muani could be handed his first minutes in a Spurs shirt, and Frank confirmed he would be able to feature after being an unused substitute at the London Stadium this past weekend.

Mathys Tel started the game with Richarlison - a late returner from Brazil duty - on the bench while Xavi Simons started on the left. With Spurs likely to have more of the ball, the latter could be shifted into a central role while one of Brennan Johnson or Wilson Odobert comes into the team.

Considering the tight turnaround and available options, defensive changes also look likely. Micky van de Ven, given his injury issues, could be given the night off especially with Kevin Danso more than capable of starting in his place and he has hinted at exactly that on social media.

Via his Instagram story, Danso uploaded a matchday graphic promoting the fixture, which is more often than not an action completed by a player set to be involved.

A change at left-back is also possible with Destiny Udogie back available and seemingly ready to challenge Djed Spence for the position. Elsewhere in the backline, it is almost guaranteed that Romero will start and the Spurs captain has also furthered the likelihood of that, courtesy of his Instagram activity.

Late on Monday, Romero posted a graphic showing all the important bits of information needed for Tottenham's clash with Villarreal. He and Danso have never started as a centre-back pairing in a competitive game but could do on Tuesday evening.

Following their Champions League outing, Spurs take on Brighton at the Amex Stadium with games against Wolves and Leeds United in the Premier League following that. Before the October international break, Spurs face Bodo/Glimt in their second European league stage game while also taking on Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

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