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

Tottenham sit top of their Europa League group after the first round of fixtures, but Thursday's trip to Monaco represents a test of their ambitions.

The Monegasques' form is middling. They've won just twice in their last five fixtures, but both were against relegation candidates (Ajaccio and Montpellier).

The 3-2 win over Montpellier featured a stirring comeback from a 2-0 half-time deficit, but Monaco were scarcely deserving winners. Each of their goals came from a combination of timidity and ineptitude from the opposition with the farcical late penalty capping a ludicrous Ligue 1 clash.

Monaco also came from behind in their only Europa League fixture so far, against Anderlecht. They are struggling for form but do not lack for tenacity and are unlikely to be easily undone.

Their back line is a mixture of aging players such as former Chelsea and Real Madrid stalwart Ricardo Carvalho and a host of unimpressive youngsters.

More effective going forward, Monaco will test Tottenham's defence.

The gargantuan Lacina Traore, former Milan star Stephan El Shaarawy and prolific Portuguese youngster Bernardo Silva present a formidable threat ahead of perennial Spurs transfer target Joao Moutinho.

Moutinho and young midfielder Thomas Lemar are both excellent at set pieces and will test Spurs if they get a chance within range.

Lemar is not well-known outside France, but he has been earmarked as Anthony Martial's long-term replacement (in French) and has been one of Monaco's better players so far this season.

Tottenham are in excellent form, fresh from a 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City. Not once this season have they produced an entirely bad performance. Their momentum should be sufficient to carry them through this European test.

Form

Spurs

Tottenham 4-1 Man City

Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal (League Cup)

Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace

Tottenham 3-1 FK Qarabag (Europa League)

Sunderland 0-1 Tottenham

Monaco

Ajaccio 0-1 Monaco

Anderlecht 1-1 Monaco (Europa League)

Monaco 2-3 Lorient

Montpellier 2-3 Monaco

Guingamp 3-3 Monaco

PASCAL GUYOT/Getty Images

Predicted Formations

According to L'Equipe, Jeremy Toulalan has returned to first-team training and could feature against Spurs, but he has not played for the last three weeks.

Almamy Toure is in doubt after suffering a hamstring injury against Guingamp, while Moutinho (adductor) should be fit to return.

Fabio Coentrao missed the Guingamp clash with a sprained knee and seems likely to be missing when Tottenham come to town.

Heung-Min Son has made a bright start to his Tottenham career but will miss this match because of a foot injury, according to Sky Sports.

Monaco

Goalkeeper: Dani Subasic

Defence: Fabinho, Carvalho, Wallace, Raggi

Midfield: Moutinho, Lemar, Silva

Attack: Traore, El Shaarawy, Dirar

Tottenham

Goalkeeper: Lloris

Defence: Rose, Wimmer, Alderweireld, Trippier

Midfield: Alli, Carroll

Attack: Chadli, Njie, Townsend

Players to Watch

Monaco's squad has been decimated by injury and offseason sales, and its once-grand vision lies in ruins. The new tactic in the principality is to acquire talented youngsters in order to develop and sell them at a profit. There are a number of exciting prospects at the club, but Lemar, scorer of a fabulous free-kick against Lorient, is the brightest. Keep an eye out for him.

Clinton Njie is likely to be handed his first start by Mauricio Pochettino in Monaco. The Cameroonian joined the club from Ligue 1 and has looked exciting in his limited time on the pitch so far. This will be a chance to really show his talent.

Key Battle

The performances of the respective full-back pairings should decide this clash.

In Toure and Coentrao, Monaco possess dangerous attacking threats on each flank.

Both have already scored this season and are adept at arriving late to contribute decisive touches, but their attacking prowess masks defensive deficiencies.

Central defender Andreas Raggi was called in as an understudy to the absent Coentrao in Monaco's last fixture and aped the Portuguese perfectly. Raggi scored and was at fault for two of Guingamp's goals in the 3-3 draw.

Spurs' likely full-backs, Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier, are also excellent going forward but far more effective in defensive phases than Monaco's.

Both sides heavily utilise their full-backs, and this fixture should see a battle up both touchlines that could be decisive.

TV, Live Stream Info

USA: 1 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Soccer 2Go

United Kingdom: 6 p.m. BST, BT Sport Europe and BTSport.com

Odds

Tottenham have surprisingly long odds to win in Monaco with most bookmakers listing them between 2-1 and 3-1, according to Oddschecker.

Dele Alli and Lemar, both 19-year-old midfielders with plenty of skill and legitimate goal threats, are available at 5-1 odds to score anytime. That seems like a value bet when compared to Harry Kane and El Shaarawy (both 2-1).