Tottenham Hotspur will look to further their bid for a place in the Europa League knockout stages when they welcome Bulgarian giants Ludogorets Razgrad to North London for Thursday's Group J showdown.
Spurs currently top the rankings with six points from a possible nine, whereas Ludogorets are yet to get off the mark and sit rock bottom of the group.
Match preview
Tottenham Hotspur are at the top of the Premier League table - not the most familiar sight in recent history, but one that has filled the Spurs faithful with unbridled confidence nonetheless.
Jose Mourinho masterminded one of his trademark performances at the weekend as the North London outfit put Manchester City to the sword by two goals to nil, with Son Heung-min and Giovani Lo Celso both finding the back of the net as Tottenham's excellent run of form continued.
That victory stretched the Lilywhites' winning run across all competitions to four matches, with Spurs now coming out on top in nine of their last 11 fixtures domestically and in Europe, but the Premier League powerhouses cannot wrap up qualification for the Europa League knockout stages just yet.
Indeed, Mourinho's men are one of three sides sitting on six points at this midway stage - with LASK Linz and Royal Antwerp only behind on goal difference - although something has to give when the second and third-placed teams lock horns two hours before Spurs take to the field against Ludogorets.
Mourinho will be giving no thought to the other teams in the group, though, with Spurs certainly expected to extend their winning run when Ludogorets pay a visit to the English capital, and Tottenham seem to have put their lowly 1-0 defeat to Antwerp behind them ahead of this week's action.
This weekend's visitors will not have fond memories of their most recent game against Tottenham, where they were comfortably swept aside 3-1 by the North London outfit on their own turf.
Stanislav Genchev's men are certainly not expected to mount a charge for a knockout berth now, with Ludogorets suffering a narrow defeat to Antwerp before coming out on the wrong end of the scoreline in a seven-goal thriller with Linz, despite Elvis Manu's hat-trick.
In spite of their continental woes, Ludogorets continue to dominate the Bulgarian scene and overcame CSKA Sofia in a routine 3-0 win just before the international break, with Genchev's side unbeaten in the top flight since the first day of the season.
However, should Ludogorets suffer an expected defeat to Spurs in gameweek four of the Europa League, the Bulgarian champions will be guaranteed to finish outside of the top two in Group J no matter the outcome of Antwerp's clash with Linz.
Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form: WWWLW
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): WLWWWW
Ludogorets Razgrad Europa League form: WLLL
Ludogorets Razgrad form (all competitions): LWLWLW
Team News
Tottenham did not come out unscathed from their victory over Man City as Toby Alderweireld was forced off with 10 minutes remaining, and the Belgian is feared to have suffered a significant injury to further deplete Mourinho's options in defence.
With Joe Rodon not eligible to play in the Europa League, Davinson Sanchez should come in to partner Eric Dier in the heart of Mourinho's defence, while the game is expected to come too soon for the injured Japhet Tanganga and the COVID-positive Matt Doherty.
Mourinho could opt to make a number of changes up top in order to keep the likes of Harry Kane and Son fresh, with Gareth Bale, Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius potentially in line for starting roles.
As for the visitors, Higinio Marin and Wanderson are both expected to remain out of action until 2021, but otherwise Ludogorets have no injury or suspension concerns for the long journey to North London.
Claudiu Keseru notched up his side's solitary goal in their home defeat to Spurs and should lead the line again here, with Manu - who boasts six goals and two assists in all competitions - expected to start on the left-hand side.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Hart; Aurier, Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Winks, Sissoko; Bale, Lo Celso, Lucas; Vinicius
Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:
Iliev; Cicinho, Verdon, Terziev, Nedyalkov; Anicet, Badji, Santana; Tekpetey, Keseru, Manu
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Ludogorets Razgrad
Ludogorets have not taken to the pitch for a number of weeks owing to the cancellation of domestic matches, but with Spurs having to contend with a couple of injury concerns in defence, the visitors will fancy their chances in front of goal. However, an in-form Tottenham side will simply prove too strong for their opponents and Mourinho should lead his team to a straightforward victory on Thursday evening.
