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Tottenham v Rubin Kazan, KO 20:05, live on Channel 5

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is likely to shuffle his pack for the visit of Group A leaders Rubin Kazan, though his options have been severely reduced in the heart of his defence.

Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Vedran Corluka and William Gallas will all miss the game through injury meaning Sebastien Bassong and Younes Kaboul are the only fit, senior, central defenders at the club. But with the four injured players also expected to miss Sunday's Premier League trip to Blackburn will Redknapp risk Bassong and Kaboul for this game, or will he go with reserve team players Danny Rose and Andros Townsend who can both play in Spurs' problem position?

Kazan boss Kurban Berdyev has also promised changes ahead of his club's huge Russian Premier League fixture away to Dinamo Moscow at the weekend.

Match Odds

You get the feeling that both managers would take a point each in the blink of an eye if it meant that they didn't have to field a team to play 90 minutes of football. The last thing either club need - especially in Tottenham's case regarding their two fit central defenders - is injuries to key players ahead of their weekend exploits, and with both clubs strong favourites to qualify from the group, there's a sense that this game will be played in a somewhat pedestrian fashion.

That doesn't make predicting the outcome any easier as both teams will be out to win the game if possible, and it could be that a single goal will win this encounter. However, in so many cases when a draw is acceptable a draw is often the outcome, and therefore this has to be my selection at 3.7.

Correct Score

Tottenham at White Hart Lane on a European night usually means goals: four were scored in the game against Shamrock Rovers and their three home group games in last season's Champions League yielded a total of 12 goals. So advising a wager on Under 2.5 Goals here - available to back at 2.0 - is perhaps a bit folly, but if the game goes how I expect it to then it will be a game of few chances. In addition then, splitting your stake on the 0-0 (12.0) and 1-0 (8.0) options in the Correct Score market could be the way to play.

Recommended Bets
Back The Draw @ 3.7
Back 0-0 @ 12.0 and 1-0 @ 8.0 Correct Scores

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