The secondary European club competition swings back into the limelight on Thursday night with Tottenham and Newcastle both in action. Tottenham travel to Braga, Portugal and will be hoping to continue their excellent cup run this season, while Newcastle face AZ Alkmaar at St. James' Park.
Spurs are on the upturn domestically at the moment with a good 4-3 victory over West Ham at the weekend under their belt. Braga aren't what you would class as one of the big Portuguese sides but they are tough and determined at home and will give Spurs little time on the ball. Aaron Lennon - Berbatov - Keane triangle could be the key for Tottenham, as all three players have been linking up tremendously well over the past few weeks to deliver some memorable Spurs performances. Centre-back King is still sidelined so Gardner will continue, while Jenas has been left at home. For Braga, Brazilian Wender should prove to be their main threat. The fast paced winger will be asked to take the attack to the London side. Wender (Wenderson Arruda Said) is Braga's top scorer in the UEFA cup with two goals and five domestically.
Player to Watch: Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov can become the first Tottenham player to score in five successive European games having scored five in his last four UEFA Cup appearances.
PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UPS
Braga (4-3-3): Santos; Filipe, Jorge, Rodriguez, Fernandes; Chaves, Andrade, Castanheira; Joao Pinto, Ze Carlos, Wender.
Tottenham (4-4-2): Robinson; Chimbonda, Dawson, Gardner, Lee; Ghaly, Huddlestone, Tainio, Lennon; Berbatov, Keane.
Dutch CourageCup Winners (Intertoto) Newcastle will entertain Dutch side AZ Alkmaar at St James' Park on Thursday night. The Magpies have saved their best displays for the UEFA Cup this year and the show down against the tricky Eredivisie side will test their abilities to the max. Manger Glen Roeder has recalled Turkish playmaker Emre into the squad after the diminutive midfielder overcame a calf problem. Stephen Carr and Damien Duff are also in contention for recalls.
AZ Alkmaar are one of Europe's most experienced UEFA Cup teams around, having previously made it to the last four recently. They are also in outstanding domestic form, currently lying second in the Dutch league after a 4-0 smashing of Utrecht this weekend. AZ topped the Group C UEFA Cup qualification group beating favourites Sevilla away in the process and are currently unbeaten in Europe this season. The Dutch side surely go into this game as strong favourites.
Player to Watch: Shota Arveladze
The former Rangers man has bags of experience and his two goal match-winning display against Sevilla earlier in the season shows that he can still rise to a challenge.
PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UPS
Newcastle (4-4-1-1): Given, Solano, Carr, Bramble, Taylor, Milner, Parker, Emre, Butt, Dyer, Martins.
AZ (4-4-2): Waterman, Luirink, Donk, Opdam, de Cler, Jenner, de Zeeuw, Martens, Koevermans, Boukhari, Arveladze
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