Borussia Dortmund v Tottenham preview: Dele Alli and Danny Rose out for Spurs

Tottenham will have to cope without the suspended Dele Alli as they travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday night.

The two sides meet for the first time in European competition, and Mauricio Pochettino's side will also be without left-back Danny Rose after he went off against Arsenal at the weekend with cramp.

In the last round Tottenham knocked out Fiorentina, while Dortmund defeated Porto. Both sides are currently second in their respective domestic leagues, five points off top spot.

But while Borussia Dortmund are chasing the mighty Bayern Munich, who they drew 0-0 with at the weekend, Spurs are facing the prospect of catching Leicester City.

Team news

As well as Alli and Rose, Eric Dier will also sit out Thursday's clash. Dier is being rested and none of the three players have travelled to Germany for the first leg.

Pochettino is likely to make changes with a Premier League game at Aston Villa to come on Sunday. Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie are both still out with knee injuries.

Thomas Tuchel has no new injury concerns with his Dortmund squad heading into the game on Thursday night.

Opta stats

Borussia Dortmund have lost just one of their last eight matches at home to English sides in European competition, but this defeat was against Spurs' North London rival Arsenal (W5 D2).

Tottenham have won twice away in Germany in their European history - beating Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in 2006 and FC Koln in 1974, both coming in the UEFA Cup.

Dortmund have made the last 16 of each of their last four European campaigns, the other three being in the Champions League. They were however eliminated at the last 16 stage last season to Juventus in that competition.

Spurs have reached the last 16 of the Europa League for the first time since 2013/14, having been eliminated at the last 32 stage by Fiorentina last season.       

The last time Borussia Dortmund faced an English side in the knockout phases of a European competition, they went onto to win the tournament (v Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final in 1996/97).

Only Aritz Aduriz (7) has scored more Europa League goals this season than Erik Lamela (6).

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has created more chances in the Europa League than any other Dortmund player this season (20).

Charlie's prediction

Well this is a tremendous test for Tottenham and I think they can go there and have a good go because Dortmund are quite an open side. One thing that's guaranteed is a tremendous atmosphere, it was one of the best I ever played in. 

It's another tough call for Pochettino as to who he plays. I think the Spurs boss will be tempted to go with a strong side, knowing knocking out Dortmund probably makes them favourites to win the competition.

However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is going to be a real handful and the key to getting a positive result is probably keeping him quiet. He's been sensational for them this season and his whole game has improved. With his pace they will need to defend five yards deeper.

Charlie predicts: 2-1 to Dortmund and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang​ to score first (20/1 with Sky Bet)

Betting

Europa League favourites Dortmund are just 8/15 with Sky Bet to establish a first-leg lead as Spurs go up against odds of 5/1 for the victory and 16/5 to leave Germany with a draw. The Bundesliga outfit head the outright at 7/2 with Pochettino's men are given a 12/1 chance, while they're 40/1 to be celebrating a Europa and Premier League double come the end of the season. Aubameyang heads the first goalscorer betting at 100/30 with Harry Kane leading from Spurs' side of the betting, while the strike duo are 11/2 to both find the net.