Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to make the most of their home advantage when they entertain Swiss league leaders Basel in the opening leg of the quarter-finals of the Europa League at White Hart Lane on Thursday.
The Premier League outfit come into the contest as the odds-on favourites, but will have to be at their very best in order to overcome a Basel side who eliminated a strong Zenit Saint Petersburg in the previous round of the competition.
Tottenham's last Europa League game at White Hart Lane saw them thump Italian giants Inter Milan 3-0, and they will be hoping to claim a similar result on Thursday, in order to ease their passage into the last four of the competition.
Andre Villas-Boas, the coach of Tottenham, will be delighted by the fact that with the exception of French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, he will be able to count with a full-strength squad for the clash.
With Lloris out after sustaining a knee injury when defending France last week, experienced American goalkeeper Brad Friedel is set to continue in goal.
Striker Jermain Defoe, who has found the back of the net four times in the Europa League so far this season, is expected to replace Emmanuel Adebayor up front, while Gareth Bale, Tottenham's player of the moment, is available once again after missing the Round of 16 return leg against Inter Milan due to suspension.
Rivals Basel, meanwhile, have no new injury concerns heading into the clash, however, Marcelo Diaz, Philipp Degen and Park Joo-Hoo are all unavailable after having reached the yellow card limit in the Europa League.
Argentine striker Raul Bobadilla, who scored 5 goals in the competition when defending the colours of Young Boys, is cup-tied for his new club. Therefore, Alexander Frey will take the field as Basel's lone striker.
Tottenham's last four matches
Mar 30, 2013: Swansea 1-2 Tottenham (English Premier League)
Mar 17, 2013: Tottenham 0-1 Fulham (English Premier League)
Mar 14, 2013: Inter 4-1 Tottenham (Europa League)
Mar 10, 2013: Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham (English Premier League)
Basel's last four matches
Apr 1, 2013: Luzern 0-4 Basel (Swiss League)
Mar 17, 2013: Basel 1-0 Thun (Swiss League)
Mar 14, 2013: Zenit 1-0 Basel (Europa League)
Mar 10, 2013: Basel 3-0 Young Boys (Swiss League)
Facts
- Tottenham's only defeat of the competition came against Inter Milan in the second leg of the Round of 16 stage, 4-1.
- While Basel have won four out of their five homes games in the competition, they've failed to win any of their five away games.
Prediction
Tottenham 3-1 Basel
