Tottenham vs. Qarabag: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Tottenham Hotspur got their first win of the season on Sunday when they beat Sunderland 1-0, but their domestic campaign gets put on hold as the Europa League starts up again. 

Qarabag FK are the first opponent on the road to Basel, and the Azerbaijani Horsemen, who beat Young Boys 3-0 en route to the group stage, will provide a tricky test. 

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is facing a minor injury crisis ahead of this first European match, so a mixture of youngsters and squad members is likely to walk out at White Hart Lane.

Team News

Christian Eriksen (knee), Mousa Dembele (foot), Nabil Bentaleb (ankle) and Ryan Mason (knee) have all been ruled out through injury. New signing Clinton Njie was not mentioned in the Spurs' pre-match briefing, so it can be reasonably assumed that he is available to make his debut. 

Qarabag have not confirmed the availability of a number of injured players as of yet.

Form 

Reigning champions Qarabag sit atop the Azerbaijan Premier League, having won their last three matches by a combined five goals to two. 

Tottenham have only played five matches so far, all in the Premier League with a gradual improvement in results. They began the campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United followed by draws, 2-2 vs. Stoke City, 1-1 vs. Leicester and 0-0 vs. Everton, before getting their first win against the Black Cats. 

Players to Watch

Pochettino has acknowledged that his fellow Argentinian Erik Lamela faces a make-or-break season. The fitfully brilliant Lamela must embrace his opportunity against Qarabag and show the Tottenham supporters that he can dominate a game in Europe, not just score a fantastic goal. 

Lamela's cameo appearance against Sunderland was encouraging. He was involved in the winning goal and took up a key role in the centre of the Spurs' attack as they worked to break down their stubborn opposition. 

Qarabag are likely to present a similar obstacle, and Lamela will get his chance to shine. 

For Tottenham's opposition, Brazilian midfielder Richard Almeida is the star. He has scored four times this season and was the standout in Qarabag's Champions League campaign last season. Qarabag's No. 9 Reynaldo is another key man. He has scored 49 goals since arriving in Azerbaijan from Anderlecht in 2013 and will threaten the Spurs' experimental back line.

Both scored in the 3-0 second-leg win over Young Boys in August.

Key Battle

Qarabag will try to dominate possession at White Hart Lane as they did against Celtic and Young Boys previously. They won't be cowed by the bright lights of London. 

The key battle for this match will come in midfield as both sides try control the ball.

Predicted Lineups

Spurs are likely to hand full debuts to offseason signings Kieran Trippier and Kevin Wimmer as well as Njie. Federico Fazio and Andros Townsend should also get their first starts of the season in a much-changed side. 

Alex Pritchard could also make his return after an injury layoff while Tom Carroll will be also pushing for inclusion.

Qarabag: 

Goalkeeper: Ibrahim Sehic (GK)
Defence: Rashad Sadygov (C), Ansi Agolli, Vladimir Dimitrovski, Mammad Huseynov
Midfield: Dani Quintana, Ilgar Gurbanov, Almeida, Gara Garayev
Attack: Reynaldo

Tottenham: 

Goalkeeper: Michel Vorm 
Defence: Trippier, Fazio, Wimmer, Ben Davies
Midfield: Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Lamela
Attack: Townsend, Njie, Heung-Min Son

TV Info

Harry Engels/Getty Images

UK — 8:05pm, BT Sport Europe / BT Sport Europe HD. USA — 3:05 p.m. Eastern Time, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2Go. 

Odds

Tottenham are sharply favoured by bookmakers to open their Europa League campaign with a victory. Odds of 4/11 are widely available, per Oddschecker. The visitors are surprisingly long at 12/1. Qarabag are a strong side and at home in European football; backing the upset seems like a solid bet.