Tottenham will be looking to put in a good performance in the first leg of this Europa League quarterfinal clash.
Andre Villas-Boas has suggested that he will field a strong side in this game, with the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon set to feature. Basel may be underdogs, but they have previous experience with English sides, after knocking Manchester United out of last season’s Champions League group stages.
Tottenham have few injury concerns ahead of this game. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is set to miss out, but Brad Freidel should be a capable replacement for this game. Jermaine Defoe has been ruled out for the next three games for Tottenham Hotspur.
Dawson and Gallas will resume their partnership in defense while the English duo of Jake Livermore and Scott Parker continue to try and forge a partnership in midfield. Villas-Boas also confirmed that young midfielder Tom Carroll remains side-lined with a hamstring injury, whilst Sandro and Younes Kaboul are also long-term absentees.
Basel have plenty of danger men throughout their side, with the likes of Marco Stellar and Fabien Frei set to be unleashed on the Tottenham defense. Ex-Liverpool man Philipp Degen will start in the heart of the defense for Basel. The Swiss side have no new injury concerns ahead of their visit to north London, with Marco Streller and Fabian Frei both expected to line-up for the Swiss side. Meanwhile, Raul Bobadilla could be back in the team after returning from a seven-game suspension for insulting an official while at former club Young Boys.
This is the first time the two sides are meeting in European competition. Tottenham’s last game was a 4-1 defeat at Inter Milan, but before then they were on a ten game unbeaten run in Europe. They will want to get back to winning ways in this tie, because going to Switzerland without a sizeable lead would be a huge risk.
Probable Lineups:
Tottenham: Friedel; Walker, Dawson, Gallas, Vertonghen; Livermore, Parker; Lennon, Dembele, Bale; Adebayor
FC Basel: Sommer; Park, Degen, Dragovic, Schar; Die, Stocker, Frei, Diaz; Streller, Gharbiyya
Source: DSG
