Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Basel

Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to make use of home advantage when they welcome Basel in the first leg of their quarter-final clash in the Europa League on Thursday.

Spurs narrowly overcame Inter Milan in the previous round to advance to this stage of the competition, while Basel held off Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg, who were one of the favourites for the competition.

The home side have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, but a strong league campaign to date has left them in third position in the Premier League table, two points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea.

The Swiss outfit, meanwhile, have won four of their last five games in all competitions, a run of form that has left them top of their domestic table, three points clear of nearest challenges Grasshopper.

Brad Friedel is expected to keep his place between the sticks with Hugo Lloris struggling with an injury he picked up on international duty, while Jermain Defoe should also come in for Emmanuel Adebayor. Squad players William Gallas and Jake Livermore are also expected to start.

Basel, meanwhile, have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match with Marco Streller, Fabian Frei and former Liverpool defender Philipp Degen all expected to start. However, Raul Bobadilla will once more have to make do with a place on the bench.

Recent form:

Tottenham: WLLLW Basel: WWLWW

Possible lineups:

Tottenham: Friedel; Walker, Dawson, Gallas, Vertonghen; Livermore, Dembele, Parker; Bale, Defoe, Lennon

Basel: Sommer; Park, Degen, Dragovic, Schar; Die, Stocker, Frei, Diaz; Streller, Gharbiyya

Sports Mole says: 2-0