Tottenham Hotspur v Inter Milan - Preview and possible lineups

TEAM NEWS:

Tottenham Hotspur:

'Spurs' will be hoping to keep alive their slim chances of qualification for the knockout stages with a victory at Wembley on Wednesday. Mauricio Pochettino's side are three points off their visitors with just two games to play, and they face an imperious Barcelona side in the final game of the group stage.

In spite of an opening day defeat to the Italians, Tottenham will approach the fixture in confident mood, having won a London derby at the weekend, as well as winning their previous home European match at Wembley.

In a boost for the home side, Hugo Lloris is available for selection after serving his suspension, although Danny Rose (groin)  and Kieran Trippier (groin) are not guaranteed to play, as they are going to need to come through late fitness tests to feature.

Long term absentees Davinson Sanchez (hamstring)  and Mousa Dembele (ankle) continue to sit out of action, as do Victor Wanyama (Knee) and youngster Juan Foyth, who is not eligible for selection.

Inter Milan:

The 'Nerazurri' can book their place in the knockout rounds if they win at Wembley; which of course, would condemn opponents Tottenham and Dutch side PSV Eindhoven to elimination from the competition. 

Spalletti's side will go into the meeting in confident mood, having snatched all three points in the reverse fixture against 'Spurs' at the San Siro on match day one.

In the only absentee for Inter, full back Sime Vrsaljko continues to need treatment on a thigh injury, even though he has begun light training after sitting out Croatia's final Nations League matches in the recent international break.

PRE-MATCH MUSINGS...

Pochettino on erroneous squad selections, supporters and Dele Alli:

"I’m so disappointed from the beginning because it’s not only him [Foyth] but GK Nkoudou and Vincent Janssen, and that’s so painful. It’s a mistake that we made that at this level of football [that] we cannot repeat again. We need to find solutions before the start of the season."

"They are so important. I will always have in my heart the Spurs fans because they’re amazing."

"The most important thing is to replicate the same performance and attitude as we had against Chelsea."

"You know Dele, he loves a challenge, every single game and big things. He is a winner, his mentality is that he gets bored quick when he doesn't feel the pressure and challenge."

Spalletti on 'Spurs', UCL dreams, and qualification:

"From when the draw was made, we knew that we'd have to knock out one of the biggest European teams to make the next round. Tottenham are a strong team with a great manager but we have the quality to take anyone on."

"Inter had been waiting for years to play in matches like this. The important thing is to show the fans that we're ready to give anything to win. We need to work till the final drop of sweat to go through."

""The game tomorrow will be a straight knockout to ensure that things remain in our hands. To just approach it as an ordinary group stage game is a risk we can't take. We want to keep going down this road. We must think that qualification depends on the result tomorrow night." 

FORM GUIDE:

DID YOU KNOW?

Tottenham have won both of their two previous home matches with Inter Milan; 3-1 in 2010-11 Champions League, and 3-0 in 2012-13 Europa League.

The home side has won all five previous meeting between Tottenham and Inter.

Inter have failed to keep a clean sheet in five consecutive meetings with 'Spurs'; though they've only failed to score once. Their record in that time: W3 D0 L2.

Wednesday's match will be the first ever time that Inter have competed at Wembley stadium; Italian sides have enjoyed a historic dominance at the venue, winning four out of five visits to the England national team stadium.

POSSIBLE LINEUPS:

Tottenham Hotspur:Lloris; Aurier, Dier, Alderweireld, Davies; Winks, Sissoko; Eriksen, Dele, Son; Kane

Inter Milan:Handanovic; Miranda, De Vrij, Skriniar, Asamoah; Vecino, Brozovic; Politano, Nainggolan, Perisic; Icardi