Preview:Tottenham Hotspur vs Copenhagen

Thomas Frank takes on his own on Tuesday evening, as Tottenham Hotspur host Danish titans Copenhagen in the league phase of the Champions League.

The Lilywhites have navigated their first three games of the competition without suffering defeat, while their Scandinavian foes are still searching for their first victory.

Match preview

Current Tottenham and former Arsenal battled hard in Spurs' third Champions League game of the season, which pitted the Lilywhites against Ligue 1 giants Monaco, who huffed and puffed but could now blow Guglielmo Vicario's door down.

The Italian thwarted Gunners academy graduate Folarin Balogun and his teammates time and time again at the Stade Louis-II, thus preserving Spurs' unbeaten start to this season's tournament as Frank's men made it five points from three continental matches.

Such a haul is good enough for a mid-table ranking in the 36-team table, although the 15th-placed Lilywhites are just one point off the top eight automatic qualification spots and often have little to fear at home in Europe.

Indeed, the Europa League winners have strung together a 21-game unbeaten run in continental matches at home - winning 17 of them - but Frank's men were met with a cacophony of boos rather than celebratory cheers the last time they took to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium turf.

Vicario's heroics could not spare Spurs from a deserved 1-0 London derby defeat to Chelsea on Saturday, when the Lilywhites were booed off the pitch after registering their lowest-ever Expected Goals total on record in a Premier League match.

Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence ignoring Frank's pleas to clap the fans at full time only added to the toxicity at Tottenham, who have now lost back-to-back games after their EFL Cup elimination to Newcastle United and have just three wins under their belt from their last 10 matches.

As Spurs bid to recover from back-to-back defeats in all competitions, Copenhagen are out to right the wrongs of successive Champions League losses, having been bested by Qarabag and Borussia Dortmund following a creditable opening draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

Jacob Neestrup's men were involved in a six-goal spectacular with Dortmund when the 2023-24 finalists visited the Parken Stadion on October 21, but four of those strikes - two scored by Felix Nmecha and two set up by Jobe Bellingham - went against them.

One of four teams with just one point on the board from three games, Copenhagen - who came through Qualifying to reach the proper tournament - are languishing in 32nd place in the standings, and the historical omens are not promising either.

Indeed, the Danish powerhouses have never beaten an English team away from home in any competition, and they boast just two wins from their last 21 away games in the Champions League proper - losing 15 of them.

However, Neestrup's side have earned a respectable two wins and one draw in domestic action since that Dortmund defeat - most recently edging out Fredericia 3-2 in Saturday's Superliga contest - but they sit five points behind leaders AGF having played a game more.

Tottenham Hotspur Champions League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

Copenhagen Champions League form:

Copenhagen form (all competitions):

Team News

Tottenham's game plan was in tatters just seven minutes into their loss to Chelsea, as Lucas Bergvall came off prematurely due to a concussion and is now likely to be missing until after the next international break due to protocol.

The Swedish midfielder joins Yves Bissouma (ankle), Dominic Solanke (ankle), Radu Dragusin (knee), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), James Maddison (knee), Ben Davies (thigh), Kota Takai (thigh) and Archie Gray (calf) in the Tottenham treatment room, while Mathys Tel is ineligible for the Champions League.

However, Wilson Odobert, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie all returned from injuries as substitutes against Chelsea and are certainly candidates to come into the first XI on Tuesday, likely alongside Xavi Simons despite the Dutchman being brought on and then off again on Saturday.

Copenhagen are not in tip-top shape for Tuesday's game either, as Thomas Delaney (knock), Oliver Hojer (surgery), Magnus Mattsson (ACL), Rodrigo Huescas (knee) and Birger Meling (unspecified) are all on the sidelines.

To make matters worse, left-back Marcos Lopez was taken off with a reported injury at the weekend, while centre-back Gabriel Pereira was a late absentee due to illness.

Youssoufa Moukoko and Viktor Claesson are Neestrup's most likely front two, but keep an eye out for 17-year-old Viktor Dadason - the 2008-born striker netted off the bench against Dortmund to become the third-youngest scorer in Champions League history, only behind Ansu Fati and Lamine Yamal.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Palhinha, Sarr; Kudus, Simons, Odobert; Richarlison

Copenhagen possible starting lineup:

Kotarski; Suzuki, Hatzidiakos, Garananga, Zague; Achouri, Lerager, Clem, Elyounoussi; Moukoko, Claesson

We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Copenhagen

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Tottenham should not have travelled home from Monaco with a clean sheet, but with all of Frank's first-choice defensive options available again, Frank's men should exhibit more robustness at the back on Tuesday night.

The hosts' creative problems means that Copenhagen should not be blown away by any stretch, but the visitors have conceded multiple goals in three of their last five games, and Spurs therefore have our vote to atone for their recent errors in a professional win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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