Tottenham welcome Belgian side Anderlecht to White Hart Lane on Thursday evening as they look to get their Europa League campaign back on track.
What happened in Brussels
Tottenham started the livelier of the two sides at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium when the sides first faced off in their Europa League group a couple of weeks ago.
Christian Eriksen gave the North London side an early lead, following a defensive mix up, as Pochettino’s men looked set to establish an unassailable lead in the opening ten minutes.
However, Anderlecht full back Guillaume Gillet levelled in the 13th minute with a fine finish past Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris.
The match turned on its head thereafter, with Tottenham rarely threatening. Harry Kane came on to add a bit of impetus to their attacking third but Anderlecht eventually claimed all three points following a goal from Stefano Okaka with 15 minutes remaining.
Despite having the majority of possession throughout the contest, Tottenham lacked that cutting edge in the final third as Anderlecht comfortably saw the remaining minutes off.
The defeat saw the two time UEFA Cup winners drop to third in Group J, behind both Anderlecht and Monaco, making Thursday’s fixture vitally important for both sides.
Team news
Tottenham have received a welcome boost with the news that summer signing Son Heung-Min has returned to full training, ahead of a vital week of fixtures in North London.
Spurs follow up the Anderlecht match with the North London Derby this Sunday, a match Son will be looking to take some part in.
With news of Andros Townsend’s suspension being made public today by Pochettino, following a bust up with a Tottenham fitness coach on Monday night, Son’s return will be all the more important with a lack of wide options currently available, having seen Nacer Chadli ruled out for up to four more weeks.
Algerian international Nabil Bentaleb has followed Son in returning to training but remains further behind in his recovery, which has seen him miss a majority of the season so far.
Along with Bentaleb, Danny Rose and Clinton N’Jie remain doubtful for the match up on Thursday night, with Ben Davies likely to deputise for Rose.
Anderlecht will place most of their hopes on their 18 year old wonderkid Youri Tielemens, especially with fellow prospect Dennis Praet having been ruled out of the fourth match in the group phase.
Tottenham probably line-up: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies; Dier, Mason; Lamela, Eriksen, Son; Kane
“…we have to get the three points…”
Tottenham’s Belgian international centre back Toby Alderweireld has highlighted the importance of the fixture for the North London side, ahead of the remaining matches away in Azerbaijan against Qarabag and back in London against Monaco.
“We have to win at home” is the view of the former Ajax, Atletico Madrid and Southampton defender, a view which has been echoed by Pochettino in the recent days.
Having suffered a disappointing defeat in Belgium the first time around, the result is arguably more important than the performance on Thursday night as Alderweireld expresses the necessity to come out victorious, saying a win is most important “no matter what”.
History on the side of Tottenham
Having defeated Anderlecht on penalties in the 1984 UEFA Cup final at White Hart Lane, Tottenham’s fans will be looking for their side of 2015 to come out victorious at all costs, to keep up their positive momentum ahead of the derby on Sunday afternoon.
Pochettino’s side are unbeaten in their last six Europa League games at home and will confidence from the fact that Anderlecht have failed to win any of their 14 away games against English opposition and are without a victory away from home in Europe since 2012.