Having suffered yet another heavy defeat to England’s top side, Tottenham have no choice but to try and make amends by recording a good result in the Europa League clash with Benfica.

That will be no easy task given that the Eagles are on top of their game at the moment, and they arrive at White Hart Lane on the back of eight consecutive triumphs in all competitions.

The game against Benfica clearly comes at a bad time for Spurs seeing as how it is sandwiched between Premier League matches against rivals Chelsea and Arsenal.

And with Tim Sherwood’s charges suffering a 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, the boss will be torn between the desire to bounce back immediately and need to rest his star players ahead of the North London derby.

Spurs produced a good performance to come from two goals behind against Dnipro and secure progression into the next stage, but their dismal record against top sides is definitely a cause for concern as they prepare to face in-form Benfica.

Nevertheless, with the visitors also expected to leave some star players out of the starting line-up, there may be some value in odds of 2.40 (7/5) offered on home win.

Tim Sherwood welcomes back Christian Eriksen to the side, but Michael Dawson is doubtful and Vlad Chiriches, Moussa Dembele, Danny Rose, Etienne Capoue and Erik Lamela are out injured.

The likes of Roberto Soldado, Zeki Fryers, Andros Townsend and Paulinho are all tipped to start as Sherwood is set to rest several first team regulars.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Lloris – Fryers, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Naughton – Paulinho, Bentaleb – Townsend, Eriksen, Chadli – Soldado.

Benfica recovered well from the disappointing finish of last season, when the team narrowly missed out on three major trophies.

That failure seems to have inspired the Eagles to some amazing displays this term, with Jorge Jesus’ men impressing on all fronts.

Thanks to an excellent run of results, Benfica opened up a seven-point lead at the top of the league standings, while qualifying for the semi-finals of both domestic cups.

And while they surprisingly failed to make it to Champions League knockout stages, they look ready to launch another assault on the Europa League trophy having lost in the final last term.

Having hammered PAOK 4-0 on aggregate in the previous round and won eight straight fixtures in all competitions, the Eagles are priced at 3.30 (23/10) to see off Tottenham as well.

Ezequiel Garay has recovered from an ankle problem, whereas Oscar Cardozo looks set to start after shaking off a back injury.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Artur – Almeida, Luisao, Jardel, Silvio – Amorim, Gomes – Salvio, Djuricic, Sulejmani – Cardozo.