Big Match Feature: Spurs v Real

Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid meet again at Wembley knowing each has the opportunity to progress to the round of 16.

Having drawn 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on matchday three, the pair remain level on points at the top of Group H and, crucially, hold a six-point advantage over Borussia Dortmund and Apoel FC, meaning either would confirm a top-two finish with three points in north London.

Tottenham have never beaten Madrid, having lost three of the previous five games between the clubs, drawing the other two. Raphaël Varane's own goal on matchday three is the only one Tottenham have scored against Madrid in 450 minutes of football.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Tottenham's first Uefa Champions League campaign, in 2010/11, was ended by Madrid. The Spanish side were 4-0 winners at home in the quarterfinal first leg, thanks to goals from future Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor (4,57) and one each from Ángel Di María (72) and Cristiano Ronaldo (87); Tottenham played the majority of the match with ten men after Peter Crouch collected a second yellow card in the 15th minute.

Ronaldo got the only goal at White Hart Lane in the second leg as the Merengues completed a 5-0 aggregate victory against a Tottenham team who included Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, both now at Madrid.

The full line-ups in London on 13 April 2011 were:

Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Huddlestone (Sandro 71), Lennon (Defoe 61), Van der Vaart, Modric (Kranjcar 83), Bale, Pavlyuchenko.

Madrid: Casillas, Arbeloa, Ramos (Granero 57), Carvalho, Marcelo, Albiol, Alonso (Benzema 75), Khedira, Özil, Ronaldo (Kaká 65), Adebayor.

The clubs' only other tie came in the 1984/85 Uefa Cup quarterfinals, when a 15th-minute own goal from Tottenham's Steve Perryman in the first leg in London settled the contest. Madrid went on to win the trophy for the first time.

MATCH BACKGROUND

Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino's team opened with identical results to Madrid: a 3-1 win against Dortmund and a 3-0 success away to Apoel, the latter their biggest victory in the Uefa Champions League.

Before beating Dortmund, Tottenham had won only one of their previous five European home fixtures. They took just three points from their three group home games in 2016/17, losing to AS Monaco FC (1-2) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (0-1) before a 3-1 win against PFC CSKA Moskva on matchday six.

Other than Madrid, this is Tottenham's first match against a Spanish outfit since a 2-1 home loss to Getafe CF in the 2007/08 Uefa Cup group stage.

Tottenham have never won at home to Spanish opponents (D2 L3).

The London club won their first European trophy by beating Club Atlético de Madrid 5-1 in the 1963 European Cup Winners' Cup final in Rotterdam. That is their only win in 11 games against Spanish opposition.

This is Tottenham's third time in the group stage and a second foray in as many seasons – the first time they have managed consecutive European Cup campaigns.

Twelve months ago Tottenham came third in their group and moved into the Uefa Europa League, where they fell 3-2 on aggregate to KAA Gent in the round of 32.

Real Madrid

Madrid opened Group H with a 3-0 victory at home to Apoel FC before a 3-1 success at Borussia Dortmund on matchday two.

A 2-1 defeat at Atlético Madrid in last season's semifinal second leg (4-2 aggregate) ended Madrid's six-game unbeaten away run in the Uefa Champions League (W3 D3). They have lost only two of their last 13 away matches, the other a 2-0 reverse at VfL Wolfsburg in the 2015/16 quarterfinal first leg; they won seven of those games.

Madrid have lost just one of their last 22 European fixtures – 2-1 at Atlético Madrid in the 2016/17 Uefa Champions League semifinal second leg, when they went through 4-2 on aggregate – winning 15 and drawing six.

This is a third game against Premier League opponents this season for Madrid, who beat Manchester United FC 2-1 in the Uefa Super Cup in Skopje on 8 August.

The Merengues are now unbeaten in their last 12 matches against Premier League opponents (W8 D4), since a 4-0 loss at Liverpool FC in the 2008/09 Uefa Champions League round of 16 second leg – their record Uefa Champions League defeat.

Prior to matchday three, their last Uefa Champions League games with Premier League opposition came against Manchester City FC in the 2015/16 Uefa Champions League semifinals, when Madrid won 1-0 in the home second leg and on aggregate.

A goalless draw at Manchester City in that tie means Madrid's away record against English clubs is W6 D4 L5. They are unbeaten in their last four trips (W2 D2).

Champions of Europe for a 12th time in 2016/17 – courtesy of their 4-1 final win against Juventus – Madrid are aiming to become the first team since FC Bayern München in 1976 to claim three successive European Champion Clubs' Cups. AFC Ajax (1971–73) and Madrid themselves (1956–60) are the only other sides to have won three or more in a row.

In 21 previous participations in the Uefa Champions League, Madrid have never failed to progress to the last 16.

Madrid finished second in their group in 2016/17, behind Dortmund – the first time since 2012/13 they had failed to top their section.

Coach and player links

Mauricio Pochettino had two spells in Spain as an RCD Espanyol player. He faced Madrid 16 times (W5 D2 L9), scoring once. As Espanyol coach between 2009 and 2012, he lost all seven of his meetings with the Merengues.

Bale made 142 league appearances for Tottenham, scoring 46 times, between 2007 and 2013.

Modric played 127 Premier League games for Tottenham between 2008 and 2012, scoring 13 goals. He was part of the side that reached the 2009 League Cup final, losing on penalties to Manchester United.

Fernando Llorente faced Madrid 22 times with Athletic Club, Juventus and Sevilla (W3 D2 L17), scoring eight times.

He is unbeaten in his last four matches against Madrid (W2 D2).

Toby Alderweireld made 12 Liga outings for Atlético Madrid in their 2013/14 title-winning season. While he did not face the Merengues in the league, he played in Atlético's Copa del Rey semifinal defeat and came on as a substitute during their 2014 Uefa Champions League final extra-time loss.

Cristiano Ronaldo faced Tottenham 11 times during his Manchester United career, winning seven and drawing four and scoring four goals.

Mateo Kovacic played in both legs of FC Internazionale Milano's 2012/13 Uefa Europa League round of 16 elimination by Tottenham (0-3 away, 4-1 home).

International teammates:

Hugo Lloris, Moussa Sissoko & Raphaël Varane (France)

Ben Davies & Gareth Bale (Wales)

MATCH FACTS

Tottenham

Dele Alli is available after completing a three-match ban.

Tottenham's 3-2 League Cup defeat by West Ham United FC on 25 October ended their 11-game unbeaten run (W8 D3).

Tottenham ended a ten-game winless run against Liverpool FC with a 4-1 home victory against the Merseyside club on 22 October, Harry Kane scoring twice.

Kane has scored 17 goals in his last 13 outings for club and country.

Kane was ruled out of Saturday's 1-0 loss at Manchester United with what the club called "a minor strain to the left hamstring".

Kane is on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. The winner will be announced on 6 December.

Danny Rose made his first appearance for Tottenham since January when he came on as an 80th-minute substitute at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

Victor Wanyama (knee) has not played since the game against Chelsea FC on 20 August while Mousa Dembélé (ankle, hip) returned against West Ham after five weeks out and also came off the bench at Old Trafford.

Real Madrid

Madrid slipped eight points behind Liga leaders Barcelona after a surprise 2-1 loss at Girona FC on Sunday, a defeat which ended their seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W6 D1).

The Girona reverse also halted Madrid's run of nine successive away wins in all competitions (seven this season, two in 2016/17, excluding last season's Uefa Champions League final success, which is counted as a neutral fixture).

Madrid won 2-0 at CF Fuenlabrada in the Copa del Rey round of 32 first leg on Thursday 26 October.

Having spent his first two seasons at Madrid on loan (Real Zaragoza in 2015/16, Eintracht Frankfurt in 2016/17), defender Jesús Vallejo made his club debut against Fuenlabrada, but was sent off in the 89th minute.

Marco Asensio's penalty against Fuenlabrada was his sixth goal of the season for the club in all competitions, and his second in as many games.

With three goals, he is their joint top scorer in the Liga this season along with Isco, who opened the scoring in Sunday's Girona defeat.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored just the one Liga goal this term, but has hit five in the Uefa Champions League.

On 23 October, Ronaldo was named Best Fifa Men's Player, having also picked up the award in 2016. Zinédine Zidane was selected as Best Fifa Men's Coach.