Tottenham Hotspur return to the group stages of the Europa League on Thursday night when they welcome travelling side Qarabag FK to White Hart Lane.
Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to begin the team's European campaign with a victory, but they will be facing the reigning champions of the Azerbaijani Premier League who are unbeaten domestically this season.
Tottenham Hotspur
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Spurs come into this clash after finally picking up a Premier League victory at the fifth time of asking away at Sunderland over the weekend.
Domestic affairs have been a touch taxing for the London club, who had previously drawn three league games in a row following their opening-day defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Group J presents a difficult task for Pochettino and his men, given that alongside Qarabag they will also have to face up against AS Monaco and Anderlecht. Taking into account the quality of the other two clubs, Spurs will feel that Thursday's fixture presents the perfect chance to pick up three points in the pursuit of progression.
One thing that has particularly troubled Tottenham in previous Europa campaigns has been the task of trying to balance their squad in order to keep the club challenging on both domestic and European fronts.
Pochettino arguably had a rather slow transfer window, but Spurs were able to add the attacking threats of Son Heung-min and Clinton N'Jie, while Toby Alderweireld arrived to strengthen the club's defence.
Son and Alderweireld have European experience, but whether Tottenham have made enough purchases to realistically threaten in the Premier League and the Europa League still remains to be seen.
This game not only presents Spurs with the chance to open their European account in a positive fashion, but it also allows them to potentially develop more confidence by building on the weekend's league win.
Recent form (all competitions): LDDDW
Qarabag FK
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Qarabag visit White Hart Lane having notched an important qualification victory over Swiss club Young Boys to earn entry into the tournament.
The Azerbaijani club impressed with a 4-0 aggregate victory, and may have instead been playing Champions League football had they not fallen a goal foul of Celtic when the teams met earlier in August.
The Baku-based side currently sit in first position in the Azerbaijani Premier League and have so far notched three wins and one draw in the competition that they won comfortably last season.
Progression beyond the borders of Group J seems to be unlikely for the three-time Azerbaijani Premier League champions, but they could quite easily pull off a few surprises throughout the autumn especially when competing on home soil.
FK go into the game off the back of a recent victory over Xazar Lankaran, and could be quietly confident of snatching a point given that they have kept a clean sheet in their last three Europa League contests.
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWW
Team News
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Spurs fans should expect to see Pochettino make a number of changes without hampering their chances of victory.
Michel Vorm could come in to replace Hugo Lloris in goal, while defenders Danny Rose, Kevin Wimmer and Kieran Trippier may be given the chance to impress at the back.
Tom Carroll might get the opportunity to be a part of a holding midfield two alongside Eric Dier.
Erik Lamela could be given an attacking role, as could Andros Townsend and Dele Alli, with Harry Kane potentially leading the line up top.
As for Qarabag, former Sweden Under-21 striker Samuel Armenteros is likely to start in attack with strike partner Reynaldo.
The visitors will also be keen to use the European experience of former Valencia winger Dani Quintana, who may start out on the left flank at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vorm; Trippier, Wimmer, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Carroll; Townsend, Alli, Lamela, Kane
Qarabag FK possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Medvedev, Dimitrovski, Yunuszada, Qurbanov; Mammadov, Quintana, Richard, Diniyev; Armenteros, Reynaldo
Head To Head
These sides are yet to meet each other and Thursday presents the first opportunity for the teams to register a matchup in football's history books.
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Qarabag FK
Spurs are still to start firing properly in the early stages of the season, but they will be confident of getting their Europa League campaign underway with a commanding win. There might be just a slight outside chance of Qarabag making something of this match, as they have won three of their last five away games in the continental competition. Tottenham, however, will view this as the easiest chance to pick up points in a group that offers bigger challenges elsewhere.
Christopher Dodd
