Preview & Prediction: Tottenham vs Qarabag

Tottenham Hotspur host Azerbaijani champions Qarabag at White Hart Lane as they aim to get their Europa League campaign off to a winning start.

Spurs, who won their first match of the season at Sunderland on Sunday, qualified for this stage after securing a fifth placed finish in the Premier League last season. And Mauricio Pochettino will want to advance further than last term, where they were defeated by Fiorentina in the last-32.

Ahead of the match in London, the Argentine boss has challenged Erik Lamela to prove his worth.

The 23-year-old is the club’s record signing but the Argentina international has struggled to live up to expectations since his move in 2013.

As a result, Lamela will see this as the ideal opportunity to show fans what he can do with the winger in line to start.

Another man looking to make an impression in this clash is Harry Kane. The England international has found the back of the net twice for his country, but he has failed to score at club level this term.

Having hit the net more than 30 times in 2014/15, Kane is eager to get back to scoring on a regular basis, and so a goal here could kick-start his campaign.

One player Spurs will be without is Ryan Mason. The central midfielder, 24, was stretchered off on Sunday after colliding with Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon as he converted the winner.

Fellow midfielders Christian Eriksen (knee) and Mousa Dembele (foot) are also out.

Michel Vorm, meanwhile, may step in for Hugo Lloris, while Andros Townsend is also pushing to start after impressing when he came off the bench at the Stadium of Light.

Tottenham will need to keep an eye on Reynaldo. The Brazilian striker, 26, joined Qarabag in 2013 from Belgian giants Anderlecht, and he has scored 49 goals in 97 appearances in all competitions.

Gurban Gurbanov’s side won their domestic league for the second time in a row last term and they were narrowly pipped to second place in Group F of last season’s competition by eventual runners-up Dnipro, who they beat 1-0 in Ukraine.

League Position: Tottenham Hotspur – 12th, 6 pts; Qarabag – 1st, 10 pts
Last Meeting: First meeting
Form: Tottenham Hotspur – LDDDW; Qarabag – WWWD
Key Men: Tottenham Hotspur – Harry Kane; Qarabag – Reynaldo
Shoot Says: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Qarabag