Tottenham Hotspur kick off their Europa League campaign with a visit from Norwegian side Tromso IL in Group K on Thursday night.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas is likely to make a number of changes to his usual starting lineup for the Premier League, with Jermain Defoe in line to start up front if Roberto Soldado is rested.

Romanian defender Vlad Chiriches could also make his debut in a white shirt.

Spurs have begun their Premier League campaign with three wins from four and currently lie third, level on points with North London rivals Arsenal.

Tromso, meanwhile, have not had a good season in the Eliteserien, which is nearing its close, and occupy 13th place in the 16-team league, meaning that they have relegation worries as well as a European campaign to worry about.

Their victory over Besiktas in qualifying for the group stage was one of the shocks of the European season and will mean that Spurs should not treat them lightly at White Hart Lane.

Recent form

Spurs: WLWW

Tromso: WDLLLD

Possible starting lineups

Spurs: Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, Chiriches, Naughton; Townsend, Sandro, Sigurdsson, Holtby, Kane; Defoe

Tromso: Sahlman; Fojut, Koppinen, Norbye, Ciss; Bendiksen, Drage, Andersen, Johansen; Moldskred, Ondrasek

Sports Mole says: 3-0

Previews by email