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Last season's UEFA Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur will kickstart their Champions League campaign against Spansh side Villarreal on Tuesday. The Lilywhites beat Manchester United in the Europa League final last season to book a place in Europe's elite competition.
Meanwhile Villarreal finished fifth in the La Liga last term to earn their spot in the tournament. The Yellow Submarine are back in the continent's premier competition after a two-year absence.
Spanish coach Marcelino's men got off to a promising start to the new season, picking up consecutive wins against Real Oviedo and GIrona in their first two matches.
However, they have not been able to kick on in that fashion, settling for a stalemate with Celta Vigo before suffering a 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrifd on Saturday.
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The Spanish side have never beaten English opposition in the Champions League and on Tuesday, they will have their work cut out for them against Spurs.
The Lilywhites, on the other hand, have been navigating a wave of changes as well. For starters, are no longer coached by the man who guided them to their first-ever Europa League title win at the tail-end of last season.
An abysmal 17th-placed finish in the Premier League caused the Tottenham top brass to pull the plug on the Ange Postecoglou experiment. In his place, they have brought Thomas Frank, previously of Brentford, whose life at the north London club has got off to a positive start.
Spurs have won three of their four Premier League matches so far this season, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Villarreal Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Tottenham Hotspur and Villarreal have never met each other in European competition up until now. Spurs' record against teams from Spain in major European competition is poor, winning just once in 13 matches.
- Villarreal have a terrible record against English opposition in the Champions League. They are yet to muster a win even after 14 meetings with English teams in the competition.
- Villarreal will play the opening match of a Champion League campaign for the third time. Both of their such outings so far came against Manchester United and ended 0-0.
- Tottenham have only won their opening match of a Champions League campaign in two out of their seven attempts.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Villarreal Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur can be proud of the way they have negotiated life in the early days of a fresh managerial regime, offering a reassuring account of themselves in the first few weeks of the new Premier League campaign.
After beating Burnley and Manchester City in the first two gameweeks, Frank's men were forced to deal with adversity as they lost 1-0 to Bournemouth.
However, they have recovered from that setback in emphatic fashion, beating West Ham 3-0 at the London Stadium last Saturday. Meanwhile, Villarreal seem to have hit a slump of sorts, going winless in their last two outings in La Liga.
The Yellow Submarine have also never won against English opposition in the Champions League. Spurs should be able to make their home advantage count here and pickup a win against their Spanish counterparts on Tuesday.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Villarreal
Tottenham Hotspur vs Villarreal Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Tottenham Hotspur to win
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
