Dennis Praet: Anderlecht need to shackle Tottenham's Harry Kane to keep dream alive

21 October 2015 16:01

Anderlecht midfielder Dennis Praet fears Harry Kane could all but end the Belgian side's hopes of Europa League progression.

Tottenham travel to Brussels on Thursday looking to remain in charge of Group J, having taken four points from their opening two fixtures.

Anderlecht, by contrast, lost to Qarabag after opening their account with a draw at home to Monaco, meaning defeat at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium would leave them facing an uphill task to reach the knockout stages.

Praet, a highly-rated midfielder reportedly attracting interest from Arsenal, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, singled out Kane as the main danger man for Spurs, even if the England forward has netted just one club goal this season.

"If you have seen last year, Harry Kane was very impressive," the Belgium international said.

"He was extraordinary and he can score whenever and from any position.

"They are a complete team and are very good defensively. They have the top two Belgian defenders in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.

"With the draw of the group with Monaco and Spurs, we are very close to the Champions League level."

Anderlecht will know plenty about Thursday's opponents as Mauricio Pochettino's squad boasts four Belgium internationals, although the Spurs boss may rest a number of his key men with one eye on Sunday's Premier League trip to Bournemouth.

The Argentinian has not rotated his side to the extent he did in this competition last season and, no matter what team he puts out, counterpart Besnik Hasi knows they will pose a threat to his Anderlecht side.

"Whatever they put out there, 50/50 from the starting team and the bench, they are still a very big team," the Albanian said.

"Europe is different from the domestic league. We always play high and offensive as possible - in Europe we take less risks but try and win the game.

"Spurs are a very strong team with a lot of power in central areas and the defenders come very high and they are very dangerous in the last quarter of the pitch. They have quick players and we will need to be careful with our organisation."

Defeat could leave Anderlecht five points off the top two in Group J with three games remaining and Hasi is under no illusion that his side need a result against their Premier League visitors.

Asked if the game against Spurs was there last chance to get out of the group, he replied: "No, but it is a very important game. The loss we had in Baku against Qarabag hurt us.

"It is still possible and tomorrow we will probably have to win to have a chance because more of our games are away and that is more difficult."

Source: PA