Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Benfica

Tottenham Hotspur return to Europa League action on Thursday night when they entertain Benfica in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Tim Sherwood's side staged a comeback against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the last round as they ousted the Ukrainians 3-2 on aggregate.

However, Spurs will be eager to get their season back on track after their 4-0 hammering at the hands of Chelsea in the Premier League.

Benfica eased through their previous tie thanks to a comfortable 4-0 aggregate triumph over PAOK.

The Portuguese outfit will travel to White Hart Lane in buoyant mood following 21 wins from their last 23 matches.

Moussa Dembele, Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen and Etienne Capoue are all missing through injury for the hosts.

Recent form

Spurs: WLLWWL

Benfica: WWWWWW

Possible starting lineups

Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghan, Naughton; Lennon, Sandro, Paulinho, Sigurdsson; Soldado, Adebayor

Benfica: Oblak; Luisao, Garay, Pereira, Guilherme Siqueira; Fejsa, Perez, Gaitan, Lima; Rodrigo, Markovic

Sports Mole says: 1-2