Having remained at White Hart Lane, Pochettino has demanded that Lamela finally prove his worth.
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Lloris’s future was in significant doubt amid interest from Manchester United in the summer, but the Spurs captain insisted he is committed to the club.
“I think that Tottenham is a big club and the players want to play for Tottenham and all players are happy”.
“I already replied to that type of question so the only thing I can say today is that I am happy at Tottenham”.
Tottenham have only played five matches so far, all in the Premier League with a gradual improvement in results.
Spurs are the heavy 4/11 favourites to win the game but Football-Talk can get you enhanced odds of 3/1 on a home win. Each game is important and we know we need a first win on Thursday because the next two games are away against very good teams in Anderlecht and Monaco.
Tottenham Hotspur have announced their starting eleven and substitutes to lock horns with Qarabag in their opening Europa League match this evening.
Spurs will be without the injured Ryan Mason, who joins Mousa Dembele, Nabil Bentaleb and Christian Eriksen on the treatment table, meaning Pochettino may look to some of his younger stars to step up to the plate.
Qarabag have made two previous visits to the British Isles; they won 2-1 away to Northern Irish side Portadown FC in 2010/11 Europa League qualifying, then lost 1-0 at Celtic in this season’s Champions League third qualifying round.
Qarabag FK are the first opponent on the road to Basel, and the Azerbaijani Horsemen, who beat Young Boys 3-0 en route to the group stage, will provide a tricky test.
All have commissioned theme tunes from German baton-twiddler Michael Kadelbach, with his latest offering set to be premiered before tonight’s games.
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“I think the way he showed his commitment here is important for the team and I am happy with him”. Three successive failures to qualify for Europe’s premier knockout competition do not appear to have troubled him.
