Pochettino Discusses the Effect of the Europa League on Tottenham
IBTimes UK

Tottenham Hotspur welcome Besiktas for a Group C clash in the Europa League 2014/15 at White Hart Lane on Thurday.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 8pm BST. Live coverage will be available on ITV 4 and ITV 4 HD.

Overview

Tottenham will look to get their Europa League campaign underway when Besiktas visit White Hart Lane on Thursday. Spurs played out a 0-0 draw in their first group game against Partizan Belgrade.

The north London club are coming into this game following a battling performance against Arsenal and will hope to take the same approach against their Turkish opponents.

Mauricio Pochettino has a full squad to choose apart from long-term absentee Kyle Walker, and his main dilemma will be as to who starts upfront as the lone striker.

Slaven Bilic
Besiktas coach Slaven Bilic Reuters

Meanwhile, Besiktas arrive in north London for the second time in as many months, following their defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League play-offs at the Emirates Stadium.

The Turkish club were denied all three points in their opening group fixture after Asteras Tripolis scored a late equaliser and ended the match 1-1.

Slaven Bilic will hope that his team can cause an upset, as Spurs will go into this match as favourites.

What the Managers Say

Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham): "Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane play in the same place as Emmanuel Adebayor and have a future at Tottenham. I need to pick some players in different games but we believe in all the players we have."

Slaven Bilic (Besiktas): "Honestly, our performance didn't deserve a win as we failed to create sufficient chances, especially in the second half. Now, we must focus on our Europa League match against Tottenham. It is not going to be any easier than this one."

Betting Odds (888sport.com)

Tottenham to win: 8/13

Besiktas to win: 79/17

Draw: 29/10

Team News

Tottenham

  • Injured: Kyle Walker
  • Suspended: N/A
  • Doubtful: Danny Rose

Probable Line-Up: Vorm; Naughton, Dier, Fazio, Davies; Bentaleb, Stambouli; Paulinho, Townsend, Lamela; Soldado

Besiktas

  • Injured: N/A
  • Suspended: N/A
  • Doubtful: Mustafa Pektemek

Probable Line-Up: Zengin; Koybasi, Franco, Gulum, Motta; Ozyakup, Uysal, Kavlak, Sahan, Hutchinson; Ba.

Tottenham