Tottenham travel to West Brom at the weekend looking to kick-start their season with a convincing victory.
Spurs rocked by Defoe blow
Tottenham travel to West Brom at the weekend looking to kick-start their season with a convincing victory.
Spurs fans could be forgiven for having their minds elsewhere, with their long-awaited baptism in the UEFA Champions League ahead of them on Tuesday.
But Harry Redknapp will want to come away from the Hawthorns as victors after taking four points from their first three matches.
Pressure is on the Londoners to kick-on this season and reassert their position in the top four and a win would breed confidence in the Spurs ranks prior to their date with Werder Bremen in midweek.
West Brom, on the other hand, will see the visit of the White Hart Lane club as a chance to record a scalp and three vital home points.
The Baggies entered the international weekend on the back of a narrow away defeat at Liverpool and a home test gives them chance to turn the Hawthorns into a fortress, as well as a return to winning ways.
Home form to a side looking to avoid the drop is vital and Di Matteo will hope for a repeat of his team's 1-0 success over Sunderland, which gave them their first points of the campaign.
Spurs will resemble a tough challenge for Albion but the Midlands outfit will hope their opponents' European exploits mean they are vulnerable to an upset.
West Brom news
Graham Dorrans resembles the biggest headache to boss Di Matteo ahead of the clash, with the Scotland midfielder a doubt due to personal reasons.
Dorrans withdrew from the squad to face Liechtenstein on Tuesday and his manager is unclear whether the player will be able to feature but Paul Scharner could debut and take his place.
James Morrison is banned for three matches, but Gabriel Thomas, Roman Bednar and Peter Odemwingie have come back from international duty fit and in contention.
Jerome Thomas (ankle) should feature, meanwhile long-term injury victims Joe Mattock, Ishmael Miller and Marek Cech are reportedly making strong progress.
Tottenham news
Spurs were rocked this week by the announcement that striker Jermain Defoe would be ruled out for up to three months.
The England front man suffered an ankle injury in Tuesday's defeat of Bulgaria and surgery on the problem means he is facing up to a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
High-profile recruit Rafael van der Vaart is in line to make his debut, although Michael Dawson joins Defoe on the treatment table for a lengthy spell.
Peter Crouch is in contention to return from a back injury, vying with Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko for places in attack, while Danny Rose left to join Bristol City on loan this week.
Possible starting XIs:
West Brom: Carson, Shorey, Tamas, Jara, Olsson, Mulumbu, Brunt, Fortune, Odemwingie, Reid, Scharner.
Tottenham: Gomes, King, Assou-Ekotto, Kaboul, Bassong, Bale, Huddlestone, Palacios, Lennon, Crouch, Keane.
