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

Tottenham's Europa League campaign continues on Thursday with the one of the longest away trips in football.

Spurs lead Group J but must defend that position in Azerbaijan when they take on Qarabag.

A win will guarantee their progress to the knockout stages, but the looming Premier League clash with Chelsea puts this match in an interesting context.

Mauricio Pochettino must balance the competing interests of Spurs' domestic and European campaigns but will almost certainly err on the side of Sunday's London derby.

Qarabag surprised Spurs earlier in the season when they took an early lead at White Hart Lane, but Heung-Min Son and Dele Alli combined with Erik Lamela in an excellent showing to secure a 3-1 win.

Lamela will be absent from this clash, but Pochettino will be hoping for more of the same from Alli and Son.

Team News

A number of first-teamers have been left out of the travelling party, including Mousa Dembele, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, but the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Hugo Lloris have made the trip.

Nabil Bentaleb, having aggravated an ankle injury on international duty, remains on the injured list with Lamela, Nacer Chadli and Alex Pritchard.

Nine of the 21 players to travel to Azerbaijan are graduates of Spurs' academy, including a number of exciting youngsters, per Spurs blogger Chris Miller:

"

Cameron Carter-Vickers &Shayon Harrison are travelling with the squad to Azerbaijan, along with Josh Onomah, Harry Winks & Luke McGee. #COYS

— Chris Miller (@WindyCOYS) November 25, 2015"

Predicted Lineups

Spurs

Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris—Fatigue does not affect goalkeepers in the same way as outfield players, and Pochettino will be relying on his captain to inspire an inexperienced side to victory.

Defence: Kieran Trippier, Kevin Wimmer, Federico Fazio, Ben Davies—The presence of Fazio will unsettle some supporters, but the Argentinian can be effective if he is protected by the players around him, and Spurs cannot risk the first-choice Belgian duo of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld here.

Midfield: Dele Alli, Tom Carroll, Ryan Mason, Josh Onomah, Heung-Min Son—Spurs are relatively well endowed in midfield, so even significant rotation would see them select a strong group.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Attack: Harry Kane—Pochettino could opt for Clinton Njie and hope to play on the break, but history suggests he'll try to win the game with Kane before giving the star man an early finish.

Qarabag

Goalkeeper—Ibrahim Sehic

Defence—Ansi Aqoli, Badavi Guseynov, Vladimir Dimitrovski, Maksim Medvedev

Midfield—Qara Qarayev, Dani Quintana, Richard

Attack—Alharbi El Jadeyaoui, Samuel Armenteros, Afran Ismayilov

Live Stream, TV Info

UK: BT Sport Europe, 6 p.m. GMT

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

Form Lines

Spurs

Bournemouth 1-5 Tottenham

Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa

Tottenham 2-1 Anderlecht

Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham

Tottenham 4-1 West Ham

Qarabag

Qarabag 3-0 Kapaz

Khazar Lankaran 0-1 Qarabag

Qarabag 1-1 Monaco

Qarabag 2-0 AZAL

Qarabag 1-0 Revan

Players to Watch

Spurs' academy has been producing talented players at a great rate in recent seasons. Josh Onomah is poised to become the latest in a line including Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb.

He has impressed in a series of cameo appearances this season, but now he should get his chance to really leave his mark on a game.

Onomah is a prototypical loose forward, capable of playing anywhere across the line behind the main striker and possessing the pace and power necessary to influence this match.

Key Battle

Qarabag have won six out of their 10 home games this season and conceded just three goals.

This includes their Europa League fixtures against Monaco, Anderlecht and Young Boys as well as Champions League qualifiers against Celtic and Rudar Pljevlja.

They are routinely dominant at home, and Spurs will be likely on the back foot.

This will force them to play on the counter-attack, meaning the key battle in this match will be between Spurs' attacking three and Qarabag's back four.

Kane, or Njie if Pochettino is feeling bold, will have space to run into and, in the form of Son, Onomah and Alli, plenty of pacy support.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Qarabag are well experienced in playing this style of game but don't often face opposition of Spurs' quality. This will be the decisive clash of this fixture.

Odds

This match is difficult to predict, but Spurs are big favourites with the bookmakers with the home side outsiders at around 5/1, according to Oddschecker.

This will be a cagey affair with neither side likely to bomb forward with abandon.

Odds of 7/1 can be found can be found for a goalless draw in this fixture. That result would suit Tottenham and pay off handsomely for a game punter.