Andre Villas-Boas takes his men to Georgia as Tottenham take on Dinamo Tbilisi for the first leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs on Thursday. The game will be held at the Dinamo Arena.

Andre Villas-Boas
Reuters

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 5pm BST. Live coverage is on ITV 4. Radio commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Overview

Dinamo won the Georgian Premier League last season and sealed their place in the qualifier of the Champions League. However, a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Steaua Bucharest in the third round qualifier of the Champions League has relegated them to the Europa League.

The hosts kick-started their domestic title defence with a narrow 2-1 win over Zestafoni. Last season's top scorer Xisco Munoz's late winner secured three points for Dinamo who enter this game after a 1-1 draw over Dila in their last game.

The last time these two teams met at the European stage was back in 1973, where Spurs won the tie on aggregate scores.

Meanwhile, the north London club make it to the second tier of the European football after narrowly missing out on Champions League action this season. Spurs finished fifth during the last term, losing the final spot to local rivals Arsenal on the last day of the season.

Roberto Soldado
Reuters

AVB's side come into this game after a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the season's opening game. Spurs' summer signing Roberto Soldado scored the only goal of the game from the spot as they sealed their first three points of the 2013/14 campaign.

The former Chelsea manager would be looking for a win in Georgia. A victory for either side over the two-legged tie will see them make it into the group stages of the Europa League. The return fixture will be held on 29 August at White Hart Lane.

What the Managers Say

Dusan Uhrin: "Tomorrow we will have very difficult match. We have been waiting to play against such team for a long time. We properly estimate our rival. Tomorrow we will play home match and want to win. Yesterday Shakhter Karagandy defeated Celtic Glasgow. I am not going to compare Celtic with Tottenham but this is football and everything can happen."

Andre Villas-Boas: "I don't agree that we can be title contenders for this season because everything is happening, everything is changing. We have to create a team from all these new players that we have bought. We haven't had lots of time to work with them."

Team Form

Dinamo Tbilisi

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): D W L D W
  • Last Result: Dila 1 - 1 Dinamo Tbilisi

Tottenham

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W D W L L
  • Last Result: Crystal Palace 0 - 1 Tottenham

Team News

Xisco
Reuters

Dinamo Tbilisi

  • Injuries: N/A
  • Doubtful: N/A
  • Suspended: Levan Khmaladze

Probable Lineup: Loria; Ustaritz, Kvaratskhelia, Khurtsilava, Glisic; Merebashvili, Papava, Grajciar, Grigalashvil; Dvali, Xisco

Tottenham

  • Injuries: Jan Vertonghen (ankle), Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon (foot), Sandro, Lewis Holtby, Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee)
  • Doubtful: N/A
  • Suspended: N/A

Probable Lineup: Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, Dawson, Rose; Paulinho, Dembele, Sigurdsson, Capoue; Defoe, Soldado

London