Tottenham hold a slender advantage, and will again bank on the brilliance of Gareth Bale to guide them through to the next round of the Europa League when they travel to Lyon for the round of 32 second leg.

A brilliant double from Bale helped Spurs to a 2-1 win over Lyon in the opening leg, but Lyon will look to make full use of that away goal, which in the end could prove to be the decider.

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas will also know the importance of scoring an away goal, and will most likely ask his side to try and find the back of the net at least once.

"Of course, not conceding a goal would be ideal but we can't go there with the mentality of trying to get a 0-0 draw," Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker was quoted as saying by the club's official website.

"We need to be solid defensively but at the same time we have players who can cause them problems. We've got to be ourselves, to try and nick a goal and win the game."

All eyes will yet again be on Bale, who has been in sparkling form this year, with the Welshman almost single-handedly taking Spurs to victories with his individual brilliance.

While the likes of Bale and Aaron Lennon are lethal on the counter-attack, Parker believes it is Lyon who are likely to go for that plan when the two sides meet Thursday.

"They had an overload in midfield and I don't think they'll play a lot differently, perhaps they'll come out a little more, but I think they are more likely to try to hit us on the counter-attack if they can," he added.

"We know it will be tough. They are well-organised with a wealth of Champions League experience and some very good players.

"We'll need to be at our best to get a result but we've showed our quality away from home this season and we're hoping to put in another positive performance."

The second leg tie comes too early for Jermain Defoe, who is expected to return to training next week, while Sandro, Younnes Kaboul and Tom Huddlestone are also ruled out.

Expected lineups: Tottenham: Friedel; Walker, Gallas, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto; Dembele, Parker; Lennon, Holtby, Bale; Adebayor.

Lyon: Vercoutre; Reveillere, Lovren, Bisevac, Umtiti; Gonalons, Fofana, Lacazette, Malbranque; Lopez, Gomis.

Prediction: 1-1