Tottenham - Ajax: Champions League team news, line-ups
The lowdown on the Spurs and Ajax team news as the two sides face off in the first leg of the 2018/19 Champions League semi-finals.
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After coming through a thrilling all-English tie with Manchester City in the last eight, Tottenham Hotspur are now out to take the first step towards reaching a maiden European Cup final as they host Ajax in the opening leg of the Champions League semi-finals (21:00 CEST).
Former Ajax quartet set to line up for Tottenham tonight
However, having been beaten 1-0 by West Ham United in the Premier League this weekend, Spurs go into tonight's clash still licking their wounds from suffering what was their first defeat (and indeed conceding their first goal) at their stunning new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
What's more, manager Mauricio Pochettino - whose line-up is likely to feature no fewer than four former Ajax players in Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sánchez - has a raft of absentees to contend with, including key men Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Ajax visit Spurs after weekend off in Eredivisie
There are few such concerns affecting Ajax, who have inarguably been the story of this season's Champions League, roaring back to a position at the top table of European football which, in the pre-Bosman era, they had routinely occupied.
Four-time winners of the European Cup, the Dutchmen have not been in the final of the continent's premier club competition since going down to Juventus in Rome back in 1996, but have now left themselves on the cusp of ending that 23-year absence from the showpiece event.
Playing an attractive brand of exciting, attacking football, Erik Ten Hag's young side have embarked on a sensational Champions League run that has seen them not only down holders Real Madrid in stunning fashion in the last 16, but also repeat the trick against the much-fancied Juventus in the quarters.
And while Spurs were busy succumbing to Michail Antonio's second-half goal on Saturday, an all-but injury-free Ajax were enjoying the weekend off, after the entire round of Eredivisie fixtures was postponed to help them prepare for their assignment in North London.
Tottenham vs Ajax: confirmed line-ups
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Sánchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Wanyama, Rose, Eriksen, Alli, Moura, Llorente
Substitutes: Gazzaniga, Foyth, Walker-Peters, Davies, Dier, Skipp, Sissoko
Ajax: Onana, Veltman, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Schöne, De Jong, Ziyech, Van de Beek, Neres, Tadic
Substitutes: Varela, Sinkgraven, Huntelaar, Mazraoui, Magallán, Dolberg, De Wit
Tottenham vs Ajax: injuries and suspensions
Tottenham: After a late fitness test, Moussa Sissoko makes the bench for a Spurs side that is missing both Kane, who has been out since picking up an ankle injury in the first leg against City, and the suspended Son. Serge Aurier (hamstring), Harry Winks (hip) and Erik Lamela (hamstring) are all also unavailable.
Ajax: The visitors are in considerably better physical shape than their hosts: their only pre-match injury worries concerned Moussair Mazraoui, who was doubtful with an ankle problem but takes his place among the substitutes, and Hassan Bandé, a player who has not featured this season (calf).
What the managers said:
Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham:
"To be in the semi-final with Tottenham was a dream five years ago and we are living the dream. But you must always dream with the moon if you want to get to the sky. When you are ambitious and you want to achieve big things, you need to set your dreams to infinity and beyond."
Erik Ten Hag, Ajax:
"I believe in my team, the players on the pitch and the plan we have gone through together. They can make their own independent decisions if something changes on the pitch. We have achieved something, but we want to do more."