There's a long, long way to go before that scenario will manifest itself, however, and with Spurs' form not being great at present - their only two Premier League wins in the last seven have come against relegated Southampton and soon-to-be relegated Ipswich Town - the Lilywhites are almost certainly going to have an uphill struggle in Germany.
More so when one considers just how poor the North Londoners were in their last fixture, a 4-2 loss at Wolves.
It doesn't help that Tottenham have lost six of their last seven knockout stage games away to German opponents in Europe (W1), while failing to score in four of their last five such matches.
The most recent of these saw them eliminated by RB Leipzig in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League in 2019/20, due to a 3-0 loss.
Furthermore, the Lilywhites have only progressed from one of their previous 10 knockout stage ties in European competition after failing to win the first leg at home - Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals in 2018/19 (lost 0-1 in the first leg, before winning on away goals – 3-3 on aggregate).
Eintracht have only won one previous game against Tottenham in Europe
There is a small crumb of comfort for Ange Postecoglou, his squad and the long-suffering Tottenham faithful to hang on to, however, as Eintracht Frankfurt have only won one of their five meetings with the North Londoners in European competition (D2 L2) and that came way back in the 1981/82 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final second leg (2-1).
With the visitors aiming to qualify for a second major European semi-final within the last seven seasons - having done so in the 18/19 UCL - it would be as many as they'd qualified for in the previous 44 seasons beforehand, between 1974-75 and 2017-18 (2).
By comparison, Eintracht are looking to reach a third Europa League semi-final, having previously done so in 18/19 and 2021/22.
The only team to have currently qualified for more than three in the competition are Sevilla, who have done so five times, whilst Manchester United are currently on three, ahead of their second leg versus Lyon.
Tottenham will have to shore up their defence if they want to have any chance of progressing, too.
In their last 19 away matches in the Europa Leagu,e they've only kept one clean sheet (1-0 v Qarabag in November 2015), and in the calendar year so far, they've only kept five clean sheets in 22 games in all competitions.
Spurs have to be wary of Eintracht hot-shot Hugo Ekitike
Eintracht Frankfurt average over two goals per home match in the competition (55 scored in 27 home games), and, in Hugo Ekitike, they have a player who has been directly involved in seven goals in the Europa League this season (four goals, three assists).
Only two strikers have been involved in more in a Europa League campaign for the German side: Luka Jovic (11) and Sebastien Haller (8), both in 18/19.
Since Harry Kane departed, Son Heung-min has been looked up to by his teammates as the player who will provide the big moments in big games.
Though he will overtake Kane (67) to become Tottenham’s all-time leading appearance maker in major European competition (68) on Thursday, the South Korean is only averaging a goal every 217 minutes in the Europa League this season.
That's his worst ratio in the competition, where he’s made more than two appearances in the tournament during a season.
First-leg performance is the level Tottenham must get to in Germany
Tottenham have at least shown under Postecoglou that they do have the tools to do the job when required, as a Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg win against Liverpool back in January would evidence - just the Reds' second defeat in all competitions to that point.
Indeed, Liverpool had beaten Spurs 6-3 in North London just a couple of weeks prior, so for the Lilywhites to flip the script so quickly after that humbling deserves great credit.
Though it's easier said than done, Ange Postecoglou's side need to play the game, not the occasion, because if they begin to allow the magnitude of potential qualification to become all-consuming, they'll likely be punished.
As a starting point, they should be looking towards their performance last week at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the barometer.
10 shots to Frankfurt's four, 31 touches in Eintracht's box (13 for the Germans), 89% passing accuracy, 22 total dribbles to the Germans' nine... In every metric on the night, Spurs were better.
Fans of the North Londoners won't want to be reminded of the 'Spursy' tag that has followed the club around like an unwanted millstone around their collective necks, but there's a reason for it.
Thursday night at least gives Tottenham the perfect chance to put that moniker to bed once and for all.
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