If Spurs finish in the top eight, currently sitting sixth in the Europa League table, they bypass the play-off round and go straight into the Last 16.

Not that Ange Postecoglou’s side need extra incentive to go for the win, but a higher placing within that top eight too would increase the likeliness of facing a lower ranked team later down the line.

Tonight’s visitors from Sweden can’t finish in the top eight but start the matchday 20^th on 10 points, enough for the play-offs as things stand – with a draw likely enough to confirm that.

So how does that affect tonight?

Well, should Elfsborg be level going into the closing stages, bar a freak run of results elsewhere, they may well sit in, defending in a low block.

They’ve put in some extremely impressive performances in this regard, shutting out Roma, Qarabag and Nice in 1-0 home wins.

Set up most often in a 3-4-3, they held off Nice brilliantly on Matchday Seven, sitting deep in a narrow 5-4-1 to frustrate the Ligue 1 side.

The Allsvenskan side have weapons of their own in attack.

Defender Terry Yegbe has a monster of a long throw, one which caused Qarabag problems back on Matchday Six.

He even scored from one, via the goalkeepers’ fingertips, in a 2023 league fixture.

Their threat from corners has been apparent in recent Europa League games, with towering defender Gustav Henriksson able to meet them in the middle, as he did for the matchwinner against Nice last week.

The quality of delivery is key from Arber Zeneli, who got five goals too in the 2024 Allsvenskan season, while winger Simon Hedlund had seven, boasting a rocket of a shot when cutting in from the wing.

But with the winter transfer window open, and having impressed in the competition, it’s little surprise there would be interest in Elfsborg’s players.

Michael Baidoo was their main man, having scored five goals across the Europa League campaign and was a composed figure from the penalty spot too - converting against Roma. But the Ghanian international, a versatile attack-minded midfielder and forward, has joined Championship side Plymouth this month.

It was a move rumoured for last summer, but Elfsborg were keen to keep him for as much of their continental campaign as possible - and with good reason.

When Nice and Roma tried to break Elfsborg down, their best chances came from going around their narrow 5-4-1, rather than through it.

This may suit Spurs, with the desire to keep wingers high and wide, looking for cutbacks to team-mates arriving in the area.

This was something brilliantly exposed by Athletic Club in their 3-0 win over the Swedish side back in November, with all three goals coming down the Elfsborg right - Nico Williams in particular causing major problems on the left wing.

But don’t doubt their resolve.

The Nice victory last week was their first competitive fixture in five weeks, with the Allsvenskan yet to start for the 2025 season, while they fought back at Galatasaray to only lose 4-3, having been 3-0 down at half-time.