It has not been an easy week for Postecoglou, as he has had to deal with more questions about his future, as well as seeing VAR deny him a potential point at Chelsea, while hearing the Spurs supporters boo his substitutes at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs were beaten 1-0, but after bringing Pape Sarr off the bench to a chorus of boos from the away end, the midfielder found the net before it was disallowed for a foul, and Postecoglou appeared to cup his ears to the away end, something he vehemently denied.

The narrow 3-1 win to a now-relegated Southampton on Sunday will not have done much to improve the ill-feeling between the two parties, but an impressive performance and result in this first leg certainly will.

A positive first-leg performance was definitely not seen in the last 16 though, when Spurs were woeful away to AZ Alkmaar and were lucky to leave with only a one-goal deficit, but they made amends with a 3-1 win at home to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

Spurs were largely impressive in the UEL league phase, finishing fourth, and they are third-favourites to win the competition, but before even reaching the final, they will need to come through two challenging tests, as Lazio are set to await the winners of this tie, if they see off Bodo/Glimt.

This is the host's first European quarter-final since 2019 when they knocked Manchester City out on away goals on the way to the final after one of the most dramatic second legs in Champions League history.

However, the first-leg win they achieved in that tie remains the only quarter-final success they have managed in 13 attempts, so something must change here if they are to keep their season alive.

Spurs met Frankfurt in the group stages of the Champions League in 2022-23, but the only previous knockout tie between the two was at this stage of the 1981-82 Cup Winners' Cup when the English side edged out their German counterparts 3-2 on aggregate.

For Frankfurt, this is a path they have trodden before, with it being their third Europa League quarter-final in six years.

An ominous sign for Spurs is that Frankfurt have failed to win either of the first legs in those two previous ties, but they still went on to progress, famously away at the Nou Camp on the way to winning the competition in 2022.

This is their competition, with just two defeats in 23 UEL games, many of which did come in the 2021-22 season when Oliver Glasner led them to continental glory, but the current crop also looks capable of going all the way.

Dino Toppmoller's men thrashed Ajax 6-1 on aggregate in the last 16 after coming fifth in the league phase, but the truth is that they have looked slightly poorer since Omar Marmoush left for Man City in January.

The visitors have won just five of their last 13 matches, and suffered another defeat at the weekend, going down 2-0 at Werder Bremen, but they were still able to retain third place in the Bundesliga despite that result.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bergvall, Maddison, Bentancur; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Kaua Santos; Kristensen, Theate, Koch, Brown; Shkiri, Larsson, Tuta; Gotze, Ekitike, Bahoya