The last time Gareth Bale played Inter Milan, the Tottenham forward announced his arrival in the European stage with a couple of sparkling performances. Spurs will be hoping for more of the same from their in-form man as the two sides meet in the last 16 first leg of the Europa League.
White Hart Lane will expect to witness yet another Bale masterclass after the Spurs faithful experienced a memorable 2-1 win over archrivals Arsenal at the weekend, and manager Andre Villas-Boas believes Inter will come across a better player than they did two years ago.
"I think Gareth has evolved as player," Villas-Boas said. "He is even more threatening now," Villas-Boas told a press conference. "I remember seeing the highlights of Inter -- Tottenham, and how Tottenham came back into the game late on.
"Maicon was an outstanding right-back, one of the Brazilian right backs, so to see a young player like Gareth play like he did against him demonstrates his talent. Now, two years on, he plays in a different position. He's become a different player; a bigger player and a more complete player.
"He's the kind of player who can determine the outcome of a game, as we've seen in recent matches."
Inter veteran Esteban Cambiasso who has seen pretty much everything during his long career understands the threat posed by Bale, but believes his side are capable of standing up to the test.
"At the moment he is playing at a great level and it's certainly not a surprise," the midfielder said ahead of Thursday's first leg. "He is one of the strongest players around. But we also have strong players and when I play against other teams I prefer to think about our players rather than our opponents."
Spurs forward Emmanuel Adebayor is a doubt for the game, while Clint Dempsey, Tom Huddlestone, Sandro and Younnes Kaboule are sidelined.
Inter will be without Diego Milito, who is out for the season, while defenders Walter Samuel and Andre Ranocchia are also ruled out.
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Expected lineups: Tottenham: Friedel; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto; Dembele, Parker; Lennon, Bale, Sigurdsson; Defoe.
Inter Milan: Handanovic; Zanetti, Juan, Chivu, Pereira; Gargano, Cambiasso; Schelotto, Cassano, Gurain; Palacio.
Prediction: 2-1 to Spurs
