Tottenham Hotspur need a win in their final Europa League group stage match to seal first place and, potentially, a better draw for the knock-outs.
A place in the last 32 is already guaranteed, but three points at home to Royal Antwerp will make it a more convincing campaign in Europe so far, to go along with Spurs’ excellent start to the Premier League season.
Winning 2-0 in the derby against Arsenal at the weekend kept Spurs top, but Jose Mourinho hasn’t been shy about questioning a lack of the same motivation on the European scene this season, with the Europa League very much seen as a secondary competition at this stage.
Spurs lost to Antwerp earlier in the group stage but have won six of eight games in all competitions since that defeat. Antwerp themselves suffered defeat in their domestic clash at the weekend, going down 4-2 away to league leaders Genk.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
When is the match?
The game kicks off at 8pm GMT on Thursday 9 December.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 2, with coverage starting at 8 pm following coverage of Dundalk vs Arsenal. Subscribers can also stream the match via the BT Sport website or app. Alternatively there will be a live stream on Independent Football here.
What is the team news?
Tottenham will be without Serge Aurier with a slight injury, while Mourinho has confirmed midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will be rested.
Tanguy Ndombele will be back for the Europa League clash after he returned to training on Wednesday.
Mourinho seems certain to field what is now effectively a regular European XI, meaning returns to the side for Gareth Bale, Lucas Moura, Vinicius Junior and Dele Alli.
Antwerp will be without Matheus and Sander Coopman, who are injured and have not made the trip to London.
They will need a point to finish top so Leko will name his strongest possible side, which should be spearheaded by Lior Refaelov, who has three goals in five Group J matches.
Predicted line ups
Tottenham: Hart, Doherty, Sanchez, Tanganga, Davies, Lo Celso, Winks, Bale, Alli, Lucas, Vinicius.
Antwerp: Butez, Seck, Gelin, De Laet, Miyoshi, Gerkens, Haroun, Hongla, Juklerod, Rafaelov, Benavente.
Odds
Tottenham – 9/25
Draw – 4/1
Antwerp – 25/4
Prediction
Mourinho’s squad players have one final chance to prove their worth for more regular inclusion - once it gets to the knock-out stages and a chance of a trophy, the boss could keep his line-up more consistent. A home win looks the most probable outcome. Spurs 2-1 Royal Antwerp
