3 Tottenham players who must step up the most vs. Frankfurt | OneFootball

Tottenham managed a 1-1 draw at home against Eintracht Frankfurt, but since they are 15th in the Premier League and coming off a 4-2 loss to lowly Wolves, that actually sets up Spurs as the underdog in the second leg of the Europa League quarterfinals on the road against the Eagles at the raucous Deutsche Bank Park.

Here are three Tottenham players who need to step up the most in order for the club to survive to the next round of the Europa League despite all the turmoil around them.

GK Guglielmo Vicario

Guglielmo Vicario didn't play particularly well against Eintracht Frankfurt last week, but he really sunk over the weekend against Wolves. His flailing attempts at saves doomed Tottenham to a 4-2 defeat, as the first two goals Wolves scored were almost entirely down to goalkeeping errors from Vicario - the kind that he simply cannot afford to make againt Eintracht and their standout keeper if Spurs are to advance.

This season, Vicario has done so well to keep Tottenham in games, and he is capable of some of the prettiest reflex saves in world football. Tottenham need to see that version of Vicario at the Deutsche Bank Park, because we all know very well that Hugo Ekitike and this Frankfurt attack are going to bring it big-time in front of their fans on Thursday.

ST Dominic Solanke

Although there are still segments of people who are reluctant to admit this, Dominic Solanke was a 65 million pound transfer mistake. Solanke has never been worth that kind of money, and he never will be at the age of 27. He is an albatross at the middle of the Tottenham attack, and while he is praise for being a well-rounded striker, that's another way of subtly saying that he can't score goals and doesn't do any one thing at a particularly high level.

After a disastrous performance in the first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt in which he was shown up by a much better and younger striker in Ekitike, Solanke is going to have to at least pretend like he belongs as the starting No. 9 for a team with ambitions of winning the Europa League. It's do-or-die for both Tottenham and Solanke, because only the most rose-colored optimists can sit there and say that Solanke has done enough to give them faith that he's "the guy" at striker.

CB Cristian Romero

Cristian Romero should be one of the best players on Tottenham, but after some injuries in the middle of the season, we have yet to see the best out of the Argentinian international. On paper, Romero is one of the most talented and athletic center backs in the Premier League, but he was a massive disappointment against Eintracht Frankfurt and then the loss to Wolves.

Tottenham can't win if players like Romero aren't at their best. There is too much on the line in the Europa League quarterfinals, and Romero is going to have to play smarter against Ekitike, who knows how to use a player's weaknesses against them. Romero isn't having a bad season, per se, but we haven't seen him at his best since around October. He needs to do more for Tottenham now.