Tottenham Hotspur have the chance of returning to the top of Group J in the Europa League if they manage to overcome Anderlecht on Thursday night at White Hart Lane.
Mauricio Pochettino's side may be 10-games unbeaten in the Premier League, but they were undone by their Belgian rivals a fortnight ago.
Tottenham Hotspur
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It is a quick turnaround for Spurs this week as just three days after claiming a 3-1 win over Aston Villa, Pochettino's side will take on Anderlecht followed by the North London derby on Sunday.
In the Premier League, Tottenham have claimed five victories out of 11 games, but they have only suffered defeat once, which was an opening-day loss to Manchester United.
Harry Kane had a quiet start to the campaign, failing to pick up where he left off last season in which he seemed to bury almost every chance at goal presented to him.
The England international has scored five goals in his last five league fixtures, but is yet to find the back of the net in the Europa League, partly because he has been rested at times by the manager.
Spurs have struggled for consistency in Europe as they have grabbed one victory, recorded one draw and suffered one defeat, which was a 2-1 loss to Anderlecht in Brussels.
They will however have the home advantage this time around as they are unbeaten in six home fixtures in Europe, having won four and drawn two.
Ahead of this week's match, Tottenham have three games of the campaign left to play, but they are currently third in the group on the same points as Anderlecht, while Monaco sit one point ahead at the top and Qarabag are just a single point behind at the bottom.
It is a very tight group, so team selection will be interesting as Spurs will also have one eye on arch rivals Arsenal, who host them at the Emirates this weekend.
Recent form: WDL
Recent form (all competitions): DDDLWW
Anderlecht
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Besnik Hasi's side showed their intent in this competition when they managed to come from behind to take all three points off their Premier League opponents.
Christian Eriksen had opened the scoring for Spurs in the fourth minute of the clash, but Guillaume Gillet responded nine minutes later to draw level.
At one point the game looked destined for a draw, but Stefano Okaka stepped up to seal the victory with a goal in the 75th minute at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.
It is a tense group as just two points separate the bottom from the top, but Anderlecht have not managed to win away in their last 12 games on the road in Europe following six draws and six defeats.
Domestically, the team are in good form having recently moved to second in the Belgian First League, one point behind Genk following an unbeaten run of 11 games.
Anderlecht have also been performing well in front of goal having scored 10 goals in their last four league games, but in the Europa League, they have only managed to win one of their five fixtures.
Recent form: DLDLW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWDW
Team News
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As mentioned above, Pochettino faces a dilemma over team selection given that his side will take on Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.
Harry Kane has been on an impressive goalscoring run, but he could start on the bench at White Hart Lane as Pochettino will want to keep the striker as fresh as possible for the North London derby.
Son Heung-min could take Kane's place after South Korean head coach Uli Stielike was recently quoted as saying that the player is "back to full strength with his club".
The 23-year-old has not played since injuring his foot during Tottenham's 4-1 romp over Manchester City last month.
Eriksen and Erik Lamela could be involved, but there will be no place for Andros Townsend, who was been omitted from the squad following a row with Pochettino's backroom staff.
The visiting side are likely to place Okaka and Imoh Ezekiel up top as an attacking duo, while Kara Mbodj and Olivier Deschacht are expected to marshall the defence.
Steven Defour is likely to start in midfield for Anderlecht on Thursday.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dembele, Dier; Lamela, Eriksen, Alli; Heung-min
Anderlecht possible starting lineup:
Proto; Gillet, Kara, Deschacht, Obradovic; Tielemans, Defour, Dendoncker, Praet; Ezekiel, Okaka
Head To Head
These two sides have met each other four times, the last of which ended in a victory for Anderlecht, but Spurs came out on top in the 1984 UEFA Cup final.
Tottenham, who were led by Keith Burkinshaw, sealed a 4-3 victory on penalties at White Hart Lane to take on the trophy following two 1-1 draws.
In the 2007-08 season, the two teams recorded a third 1-1 draw in the group stages, which was at the time of when Juande Ramos was in charge of the London club.
Overall, Spurs have managed just two wins over Belgian sides, as well as three draws and two defeats, while Anderlecht's 31 fixtures against English opposition have ended in seven wins, five draws and 19 losses.
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Anderlecht
It is an important fixture for both teams as they try to pull themselves away from the bottom three, so it is likely to be a tough match. Both sides head into the game on impressive unbeaten records, but Spurs will just have the edge given that they are on home turf this time around. Kane could miss out being given a place in the starting lineup due to this weekend's fixture against Arsenal, but Pochettino still has plenty of attacking prowess to see out a win on Thursday night.
Danielle Joynson
