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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
89 53 22 15 190-72
(Winners 1972, 1984
Finalists 1974)
Total
P W D L F - A
142 82 31 29 299-135
Europa League Group A
P W D L F-A GD PTS
1. Rubin Kazan 2 1 1 0 5-2 3 4
2. Spurs 2 1 1 0 3-1 2 4
3. PAOK 2 0 2 0 2-2 0 2
4. Shamrock Rovers 2 0 0 2 1-6 -5 0
A question of balance
Harry Redknapp has some tricky selection decisions to make for this important home Europa League tie against our likely main contenders to win Group A. With Premier League games our clear priority, and the next game at Ewood Park on Sunday, as always, Harry will have to solve a question of balance.
Here's what we know. Rafa van der Vaart is not registered for the group stage of the competition, and Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Niko Kranjcar are definitely not fit. We don't know the status of William Gallas, who we have yet to see in a competitive game this season.
Aaron Lennon and Sandro were 50/50 for Sunday's game at Newcastle, so perhaps they will make a return for this game. Danny Rose and Steven Pienaar have also returned to training, and may be fit. Corluka may still be a doubt after returning from International duty with an injury.
I don't think we are going to see such an inexperienced side as we did on our trip to Greece a month ago. It looks as if Kaboul and Bassong will have to play in the middle, and we may see Jermain Defoe and Pavlyuchenko start up front. Kyle Walker has played almost as many minutes as anyone else in the squad, but may well have to play, with no obvious cover for his position. Giovani Dos Santos will presumably start this game.
Rubin Kazan are a useful team, and our results in the next two Europa League games at home and away against the Russians will surely decide the leadership of the Group. Rubin Kazan were promoted to the Russian Premier League for the first time in 2003, and won it in 2008 and 2009. Last season, the finished third, and qualified for the Champions League, but had to enter at the Third Qualifying round stage. They beat Dynamo Kiev 4-1 on aggregate, but then lost 4-2 on aggregate to Lyon, thus dropping to the Europa League. Dynamo are currently third in Group E, led by Stoke with Besiktas in second place.
Rubin are currently sixth in their league with only three games to play, so they might struggle to qualify for next year's Euopean competitions. Note that Anzhi, who are paying Samuel Eto'o a fortune, are two places below Rubin.
Rubin are in decent form at present. They have not lost in their last 5 games, one of which was a 2-2 home draw against PAOK in match 2 of this Group stage. On Sunday, they beat Roman Pavlyuchenko's old club, Spartak Moscow 3-0. One their goals was scored by their top league scorer (only 6), the Israeli midfielder Bebars Natcho, who played against Spurs in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup for Hapoel Tel-Aviv. (Hapoel Tel-Aviv 0 Spurs 2 - 8th November, 2007)
A more familiar name in the Rubin squad is that of former Inter and Newcastle striker, Obafemi Martins. Martins was last seen in this country on loan with Birmingham, and scored the dramatic 89th minute winner in last season's Carling Cup Final against Arsenal, for which he deserves a cheer, if selected. Martins does not seem to be getting many minutes though for the Russian side, and last played (and scored) in their 3-0 win in Dublin against Shamrock Rovers last month.
We are more likely to see the Ecuadorian midfielder Noboa, and the Paraguayan striker, Nelson Valdez tomorrow night than we are Martins.
It's a little too early for team news, but I will update this page as and when it is received. I'll predict a 2-0 win for Spurs.
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