KF Shkendija vs Tottenham LIVE!
Tottenham's arduous Europa League qualifying campaign takes them to North Macedonia today as they visit KF Shkendija.
Jose Mourinho's side survived a scare against Lokomotiv Plovdiv last week, coming from behind to win late on as the minnows finished with nine men.
Spurs were due to be playing two games in 48 hours but Tuesday night's EFL Cup clash against Leyton Orient was called off after several members of the O's squad tested positive for coronavirus.
The tight schedule brought about by the delayed start to the season because of the pandemic means Thursday's tie will be played over a single leg rather than the usual two.
Date, time and venue
Shkendija vs Tottenham is scheduled for a 7pm BST kick-off on Thursday, September 24.
The match will be played behind closed doors at the Philip II Arena with no fans due to be present due to government guidelines regarding coronavirus.
How to watch
TV channel: The match will be televised live on Premier Sports 1, with coverage starting at 6:55pm.
Live stream: Premier Sports subscribers will be able to stream the match online. Click here for more information.
Team news
Jose Mourinho has laid down the gauntlet for Dele Alli by challenging the 24-year-old to perform, so it would only be fair if the 24-year-old returns to the XI, having been left out of the squad for the last two matches.
Mourinho is not taking the Europa League qualifiers lightly, but the cancellation of Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie against Leyton Orient may prompt the Tottenham boss to rotate his side more than originally planned in North Macedonia.
Joe Hart was in line for his Spurs debut at Brisbane Road, so may be given a chance ahead of Hugo Lloris, while Serge Aurier is also pushing for his first start of the season, even while his future remains uncertain.
Sergio Reguilon is not part of the squad, so Ben Davies is likely to continue at left-back, leaving the Spaniard free to face Newcastle on Sunday.Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso are both struggling to play 90 minutes at present, so the likelihood is that Mourinho will start the Frenchman on Thursday and save Lo Celso for the weekend.
Harry Kane has to play, according to Mourinho at least, while he remains the club's only recognised centre-forward but the manager's other trusted forwards, Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son, will surely be rested.
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Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso are both struggling to play 90 minutes at present, so the likelihood is that Mourinho will start the Frenchman on Thursday and save Lo Celso for the weekend.
Harry Kane has to play, according to Mourinho at least, while he remains the club's only recognised centre-forward but the manager's other trusted forwards, Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son, will surely be rested.
Predicted Tottenham XI (4-2-3-1): Hart; Aurier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Davies; Winks, Ndombele; Lamela, Dele, Bergwijn; Kane
Prediction: Shkendija 0-3 Tottenham
Tottenham struggled past inferior opposition last week, but will surely have learnt from their sluggish approach to that game and looked much sharper in the Premier League rout of Southampton on Sunday.
They will be boosted by the fixture pile-up not being quite as severe as had been planned thanks to the cancellation of the Orient tie and they will be keen to build some momentum with a third successive win ahead of hosting Newcastle on Sunday.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Unsurprisingly, this will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.
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6 mins: Every time Tottenham come forward, they look like scoring and it's not often you say that about the team considering their form this year.
Bergwijn's lay-off to Davies is just a little overhit but the Welshman wins a corner. Shkendija look ill-equipped to deal with Spurs' quality so far.
GOAL! Shkendija 0-1 Tottenham | Erik Lamela 5'
A perfect start!
Son weaves his way past two defenders and finds Lamela in acres of space at the far post and the Argentine finishes astutely with his right foot.
Photo: Getty
2 mins: Tottenham begin on the front foot and it's a teasing delivery to the front post from Davies, which is cleared before Son can get his foot on it.
KICK-OFF!
We're underway in Skopje!
Here we go!
The players are walking out of the tunnel and we're just a few minutes before getting underway.
Standard Sport prediction: Shkendija 0-3 Tottenham
Tottenham struggled past inferior opposition in the previous round, but will surely have learnt from their sluggish approach to that game and looked much sharper in the Premier League 5-2 rout of Southampton on Sunday.
They will be boosted by the fixture pile-up not being quite as severe as had been planned thanks to the cancellation of the Leyton Orient tie. Mourinho's men should record a comfortable win in North Macedonia ahead of their game against Newcastle on Sunday.
A big night for Dele Alli.
The midfielder has been linked with a loan move to PSG and, with Gareth Bale returning to Spurs, his place looks under threat.
A few goals tonight would do wonders for his confidence and convince his boss Jose Mourinho he is worth keeping around for this season after all.
Photo: Getty
Joe Hart makes his Tottenham debut tonight at the age of 33.
Photo: ReutersIf you had asked former England international if he would have believed he would be playing in a Europa League qualifier in North Macedonia, he probably wouldn't have believed it.
Hart only made three appearances for Burnley last season but gets his chance to prove himself tonight for Spurs.
Who are FK Shkendija?
The chances are that unless you hail from the nation, you won't have much idea about Shkendija. But that unknown quantity makes the North Macedonian outfit a danger in itself.
Photo: AFPNo doubt, Jose Mourinho and his staff would have familiarised themselves with the opposition and how they can expose his team's weaknesses.
One of their strengths is veteran striker Besart Ibraimi, who has scored 16 goals across the Champions League and Europa League qualification stages for Shkendija over the last five seasons.
They are also unbeaten in the North Macedonian first division and sit top of the league after six games, having finished third last season behind champions Vardar.
Having come across Red Bull Salzburg and AC Milan in recent seasons, Shkendija will have experience of playing a team of Tottenham's quality and their performance against Plovdiv in the previous round certainly highlighted some frailites. An upset is unlikely, but not out of the question.
A masked Jose Mourinho checks out the pitch at the Todor Proeski stadium in Skopje.
It's safe to say the Portuguese is not taking this fixture lightly, although the Leyton Orient fixture postponement has allowed him to give Harry Kane an extended rest tonight.
Photo: Reuters