- Jul 27, 2004
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After last weeks match which was not an easy as some predicted we will needed to be at our best to get a positive result tonight. Thankfully the result at the weekend was just the kind of performance to build on going into this game with every chance of progressing to the next round. As PSV manager said this tie is worthy of the champions league and hopefully in a couple of seasons time it will be.
The Official Site Team News:
Jonathan Woodgate and Jermaine Jenas have made the trip to Eindhoven and trained at the Philips Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Woody was substituted late on against West Ham having suffered a foot injury, while JJ missed out on Sunday with an ankle injury sustained in the first leg against PSV at White Hart Lane. Skipper Ledley King is also in contention after sitting out the victory over the Hammers.
Younes Kaboul (knee) and Ricardo Rocha (groin) have not travelled, while Alan Hutton is ineligible. Gareth Bale (foot) and Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) remain long-term absentees.
Setanta Sports Preview:
Juande Ramos will look to keep his Uefa Cup Midas Touch intact when he takes his Tottenham side to Eindhoven on Thursday, needing to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit.
Ramos has won the competition for the past two years with Sevilla and has already enhanced his reputation as a knockout specialist by guiding Spurs to Carling Cup glory last month.
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Ironically, Ramos could have been up against his White Hart Lane predecessor if Martin Jol had not decided that succeeding Ronald Koeman at PSV was too soon after he had been manoeuvred out of North London.
Instead, Ramos will be forced to pit himself against Sef Vergoossen, who has picked up where Koeman left off by putting PSV in pole position to claim their second successive Eredivisie title.
Vergoossen is likely to have Ibrahim Afellay available from the start, despite the key midfielder struggling to train this week, as he looks to preserve a 1-0 lead and ensure a smooth progression to the last eight.
Ramos meanwhile will be without January signing Alan Hutton who is cup-tied, but has received a major defensive boost.
Ledley King was forced to settle for a place on the bench against West Ham on Sunday, while Jonathan Woodgate limped off with a foot injury, but both have boarded the flight to Holland.
The game has been given the go-ahead despite fears that a recent police strike would force its postponement.
Prediction: 1-1
BBC Match Squads (take with a pinch of salt):
Tottenham Squad (from): Robinson, Cerny, Chimbonda, Lee, Tainio, Woodgate, King, Dawson, O'Hara, Zokora, Jenas, Huddlestone, Taarabt, Lennon, Malbranque, Boateng, Berbatov, Keane, Bent.
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Right, that's enough fuel for this fixture, kick off is at 15:00 GMT - check [thread=28583]Geez's Media Coverage Thread[/thread] for watching and listening options.