bwin Sportsblog - Football - Crunch time for Tottenham?

Match day three in Group A of the Europa League pits Tottenham Hotspur up against the very dangerous Rubin Kazan. Both of these teams top the group on 4pts so far and it can be argued that these sides are the two contenders for the group ahead of PAOK and Shamrock Rovers.

Tottenham were given a hard time by Shamrock Rovers in the previous game and although they are certainly a side capable of going all the way in this competition, one has to ask the question of just how badly they want to win it. Clearly it will depend on the strength of team that manager Harry Redknapp decides to field. They had a tough game against Newcastle United last weekend and despite their bad start in the league, have recovered in recent weeks.

Rubin Kazan have had some impressive performances in the Champions League of late and so this will prove a difficult test for Tottenham although history has shown that they are a very difficult team to beat at home. The two head to head games between these two sides will more than likely decide the group winners but defeat or even a draw here for Tottenham may just make their passage through to the knockout stages a bit more uncertain than they may have hoped.