Apoel Nicosia vs Tottenham Hotspur. UEFA Champions League Group H.
GSP StadiumAttendance16,324.
Tuesday 26 September 2017 19:42, UK
Tottenham face APOEL in the Champions League on Tuesday as they look to build on an impressive opening win at home to Borussia Dortmund in Group H.
Victory in Cyprus would put Mauricio Pochettino's men in a strong position to qualify given Dortmund host Real Madrid.
Spurs head into the contest in good form having not lost a match since their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea more than a month ago, most recently beating West Ham United 3-2 at the London Stadium.
However, the visitors will be without centre-back Jan Vertonghen, with the Belgian serving a one-match ban after receiving two yellow cards against Dortmund last time out, while Dele Alli is missing his second of three European matches after being dismissed against Gent in the Europa League last season.
Vertonghen's absence means Eric Dier could drop into the back three, or Pochettino may put his faith in 19-year-old summer signing Juan Foyth.
"It's a shame," Vertonghen said. "I don't think I deserved that red card, but if not I'm on a yellow card and I can miss any other game with another yellow.
"I've got confidence in the team. I'm suspended now but it's only one game."
Spurs will also be without Christian Eriksen, who is unwell and has not travelled with the squad, and that will be a huge blow for Pochettino's side with Vertonghen suggesting his team-mate is now among the best playmakers in the world after the Dane's sensational start to the season.
Eriksen has been superb so far this term, contributing three assists and two goals already in the Premier League. He finished last season with 15 assists, second only to Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne.
Asked if Eriksen was up there with the finest playmakers in the world, Vertonghen said: "I believe so, yeah. I think Christian has made unbelievable progress.
"I've known him for many years and he's always been a great talent, a great player but in the last two seasons he's made great progress. Everyone always said that you have to be the best playmaker in the world with his quality and I think definitely the last years have been big, big steps forward.
"He's scoring goals and giving assists and even when he drops a line, what he did for us in a couple of games, he does very well. Christian, especially in the last two seasons, has been enormous."
Spurs will be without suspended duo Dele Alli and Vertonghen for the trip to Cyprus, with the former serving the second of a three-match ban following his red card against Gent in the Europa League in February.
Eriksen misses out through illness, while Erik Lamela (hips), Danny Rose (knee) and Victor Wanyama (knee) are also sidelined.
Mousa Dembele, meanwhile, is set to miss out due to an ankle problem.
This is the first competitive meeting between APOEL and Tottenham
No Cypriot side has ever beaten English opposition in European competition, in 12 attempts (D2 L10)
In fact, APOEL's only previous encounter with an English club came in the 2009/10 Champions League group stages against Chelsea. The Cypriot team lost 1-0 in Nicosia before securing a 2-2 draw in London
Tottenham have faced Cypriot opposition more times than any other English club in European competition (Anorthosis Famagusta in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup first round, AEL Limassol in the 2014/15 Europa League play-offs). They've scored 12 goals and conceded only three in those four games (W3 D1)
APOEL have lost 10 of their last 12 Champions League games (W1 D1). They have also failed to score in 10 of their last 13 outings, remaining goalless in each of their last five games
APOEL have never kept a clean sheet at home in the Champions League group stages (9 games)
Away from home Tottenham are looking really strong. They've got their rhythm of last season when they're away from Wembley and they're in a positive position in their group after beating Dortmund.
Harry Kane has scored a couple more and Christian Eriksen also got a goal against West Ham, so there's a good feeling flowing through that forward line.
I saw people questioning Dele Alli's performance against West Ham but I think it was the same last season when him and Kane took a while to get going. His absence through suspension, along with Jan Vertonghen, is definitely a concern.
What they'll get here is a physical scrap. APOEL will be awkward to break down and well organised, so I think it could be a tight night for Spurs.
Charlie predicts: 1-2 and Toby Alderweireld to score first (115/1 with Sky Bet)
Mauricio Pochettino's men were cut from 5/6 to 1/3 to qualify for the knockout stage after beating Dortmund, while they are now 11/4 to win Group H.
Harry Kane is just 7/4 to net first but enhanced from 9/2 to 11/2 to score a header in Sky Bet's Price Boosts, with Igor De Camargo considered the hosts' main threat at 10/1 to break the deadlock.
