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.
Read More
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.
We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Evening Standard
27 mins: Dele denied!
Fine save from Zahov!
Once again, it's the Aurier run which causes Shkendija problems as Bergwijn loops it to the far post.
On the first-time volley, he finds Dele with the cross and his close-range effort is beaten away before Krivak hacks the ball clear. Spurs want that second goal before the break.
Photo: Getty
26 mins: Alderweireld close!
It should be 2-0 to Tottenham.
Bergwijn whips in the corner from the left and the Belgian rises high to glance his header just wide.
25 mins: Aurier is playing so high up the pitch that the Shkendija left-back Pavic is having to mark him and Lamela.
The Ivorian makes a clever run in behind the defender after Dele's pass and wins a corner for his troubles.
Sitting on the stands when he's fit to play is something Harry Kane isn't used to.
But the striker might just be glad for the rest with a very congested schedule coming up for Spurs.
Photo: Getty
Dan Kilpatrick: "Mourinho has challenged Dele to prove himself tonight but it's been a fairly inauspicious start for the midfielder. "One penalty appeal aside, Dele is yet to really get in the game but has been tidy in possession."
21 mins: Ndombele has looked like a different player in midfield tonight, taking confident first touches and playing the ball through the lines.
This time he finds Dele, who goes down inside the box under a clumsy challenge but the referee waves play on.
17 mins: Dele throws his arms up in frustration after twice making runs into space only for Aurier to ignore him and Ndombele's pass to roll away from him.
He is proving to his manager he wants to be in this team. You can tell that from the energy and desire he has tonight.
13 mins: Spurs are looking extremely dangerous on the counter attack and Alli seems to be thriving in the No10 role today, trying to pick out Son only to overhit the pass.
There are goals in this for Spurs because Shkendija are being pulled apart... it's just a question of how many.
10 mins: With no fans inside the empty arena, Mourinho can be heard barking instructions from the sidelines and he's keen for his side to kill this game off as soon as possible.
What is evident is that the extra time on the training ground has paid off.
Dan Kilpatrick: "Given Tottenham's 'inhuman"'fixture congestion, Jose Mourinho will want nothing more than to establish an early so his players can conserve energy later in the game. "To that end, Spurs have made the perfect start."