· Spurs 3 Qarabag 1 - 17.09.15
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Spurs' record in Europe:-

 
U.E.F.A Champions League
 
 P   W   D   L   F - A
12   5   3   4  25 - 19
 
European Cup
P   W   D   L   F - A
8   4   1   3  21 - 13
 
(Semi-Finalists 1962)
 
European Cup Winners Cup
 
P   W   D   L   F - A
33  20  5   8  65 - 34
 
(Winners 1963)
 
UEFA Cup/Europa League
 P    W   D   L   F - A
132  75  34  23  264-111 
 
(Winners 1972, 1984
 Finalists 1974)
 
Total
P    W   D   L   F - A
185 104 45  38  369-177

               
               EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP J

		P  W  D  L  F-A  GD  Pts

1. Spurs 	4  2  1  1  7-5   2   7
2. Monaco       4  1  3  0  4-3   1   6
3. Anderlecht   4  1  1  2  4-5  -1   4
4. Qarabag      4  1  1  2  3-5  -2   4

One win away. Will we get it here?

After Mousa Dembele's cracking late goal at home against Anderlecht three weeks ago, Spurs are just one win away from qualification to the knock-out phase of The Europa League. One of the big questions is will we get it here in Azerbaijan? Another is which players will represent Spurs?

It's a hellish long trip for Spurs (2,500 miles), and Mauricio Pochettino has expressed his feelings about the fixture calendar this week, which gives us a 12 noon Sunday kick-off against Chelsea, who had the benefit of a Tuesday night Champions League game.

Whilst we were playing Anderlecht at home and away, Qarabag played Monaco, and didn't fare too well, losing away and only drawing at home. Whilst they are bottom of Group J, a home win would put the cat among the pigeons, and leave the qualification process wide open for the final game on December 10th. Spurs will be at home to Monaco then, whilst the Azerbaijanis have to travel to Brussels.

With that Chelsea game on Sunday, the temptation for most Spurs fans (me included) is to say "Send the reserves", and allow the first team to stay at home to prepare for a vital Premier League game (aren't they all vital?).

There are several clues regarding the likely team that will start tomorrow night's game. Firstly the team for our 3-1 home win was Lloris (Capt.); Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Dier (sub Winks, 76), Carroll; Townsend (sub N'Jie, 68), Alli, Lamela; Son (sub Kane, 68). The unused subs were - Vorm; Fazio, Davies; and Onomah.

The Spurs starting line-up tomorrow might not be radically different tomorrow.

Mauricio Pochettino has taken a stronger squad than most Spurs fans wanted. Erik Lamela is described as unfit to travel with a groin strain, which hopefully will not make him unavailable for Sunday. Nabil Bentaleb is also still not fit. Mousa Dembele, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose have been left at home. They are assured starters on Sunday then!

Son had a great game against West Ham, and came off slightly early. He has also featured in a THFC website video interview, which suggests he will be playing. Son scored twice in a great home debut in September against this team, and could start in place of Kane tomorrow. Ben Davies will play instead of Rose, and a big issue for Pochettino will be whether or not to rest both his centre-halves, and whether or not to trust Fazio with a rare appearance. Sadly, Federico did not impress in his only appearance this season to date against Arsenal in a home League Cup defeat. Ryan Mason could start this one too.

Dele Alli is suspended on Sunday, so he will definitely play. The point is that Spurs need a strong team to bring home all three points from the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku. The stadium is used for Azerbaijan's Internationals and is famously named after the "Russian" linesman who awarded Geoff Hurst's contentious goal in the 1966 World Cup Final. Mr Bahramov died in 1993, when the stadium was given his name.

Qarabag are flying in their domestic league, with 32 points from 13 games, with just one defeat. They are 9 points ahead of their nearest rivals, and they have won their last four league games, including a 3-0 home win on Saturday, when Chumbinho, Quintana and Richard all scored. Chumbinho and Richard are Brazilian. Quintana is Spanish. All three play in midfield. Of the three, only Chumbinho did not feature in the game at White Hart Lane. Afran Ismayilov, who did play at The Lane, has scored twice in his last three club games. Qarabag are unbeaten at home in all competitions this season.

After taking an early lead at White Hart Lane in the September match, Qarabag played some decent passing football, without threatening Hugo Lloris too much. They get big crowds (about 30,000) for their European games, so I expect there will be a vibrant home atmosphere to confront tomorrow. Spurs might do well to bring home a point, and wait till December 10th to ensure qualification from the group. If you feel more confident than me about the result, you may be interested in this Matchbook bonus code to give you a head start.

There doesn't seem to be much point in taking some of our first choice players without starting them, so Spurs could line up tomorrow with Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies; Dier, Alli; Townsend, Mason, Eriksen; Son.

Referee Mr. Sidiropoulos and his team of officials are from Greece. We have not encountered this referee as yet, but he is an established referee at domestic, European and International levels.

I am not travelling to this game (it's the first game I will be missing this season), but I will be watching, and I shall offer a TV based report tomorrow night.

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