Victory at FC Rubin Kazan will guarantee Tottenham Hotspur FC a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 with the home side eager to regain the Group A initiative.
The two in-form sides face each other in tonight’s LIVE Europa League match on Joy Sports and Adom TV on Multi-TV.
Rubin Kazan manager Kurban Berdyev thinks Harry Redknapp's absence will have little impact on Tottenham's performance in tomorrow's Europa League clash between the two sides in Russia.
It is understood Redknapp will undergo a minor heart procedure today after being admitted to hospital last night.
It is not known how long the 64-year-old will be absent from the Spurs dug-out, but the London club confirmed last night that he would not make the 2,000-mile trip to Kazan for tomorrow night's game against the Russians.
Redknapp is a popular figure in the Spurs camp, and in English football in general.
But despite his absence, Berdyev thinks the Spurs squad will be professional enough to focus their minds on the game tomorrow at the Central Stadium.
"First of all we hope he (Redknapp) gets well soon,'' Berdyev said.
"Secondly, all professional players take each and every game seriously regardless of what is going on with their team and their manager.
"Thirdly, we will be taking the game seriously, regardless of which coach is coming.''
Assistant manager Kevin Bond and first-team coach Joe Jordan will take charge of the team in Redknapp's absence.
The north London club moved ahead of Rubin to reach the top of Europa League Group A two weeks ago when they beat Berdyev's side 1-0 at White Hart Lane.
Despite the fact that a win will guarantee them passage through to the last 32, Spurs are likely to rest a number of their stars, with the likes of Gareth Bale, Scott Parker and Luka Modric not expected to travel - let alone play.
That will mean players such as Tom Carroll, Harry Kane and Andros Townsend will play in the Russian city, which is 450 miles east of Moscow.
Bond insists the club are not treating the Europa League with contempt by fielding a second-string side and even has his sights set on winning the competition.
"Our priority for the coming season has to be to try to try to qualify for the Champions League, at least, but we would also like to win some silverware for the club,'' he said.
"We would like to win a trophy for ourselves and for the supporters if possible and the Europa League is an opportunity for us to do that so we will not be disrespecting the competition and bringing out any second-rate players.
"We will play a side that we think can win in every game we play and we have brought a strong squad with us.''
MATCH FACTS AND FIGURES
Tottenham's Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko scored the only goal in the clubs' match day three meeting; his first successful effort against Rubin from open play in nine encounters.
It was the teams' first UEFA competition meeting and Rubin's first game against an English side.
Rubin have lost only one of their last 14 home games in Europe, 2-0 against FC Twente in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32. That run includes nine draws as well as four wins.
Tottenham have lost only one of their last five European games on the road (4-0 at Real Madrid CF in last season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals), drawing and winning twice in the process.
Team facts
Three of Rubin's five group stage goals this season have come within 15 minutes of the restart.
Rubin striker Obafemi Martins knows all about English football from his time as a Newcastle United FC player, where he spent three seasons between 2006 and 2009. He returned to England last year for a loan spell at Birmingham City FC.
Martins scored in his first four games against Spurs with Newcastle – all four of them wins. However, he failed to register and was on the losing side in his final two meetings with the north London club during the 2008/09 season.
Martins and Spurs defender Sébastien Bassong were team-mates at Newcastle in 2008/09.
Spurs boast Russian talent in the form of Pavlyuchenko, who played in the Russian Premier League with SC Rotor Volgograd (2000-02) and Spartak Moskva (2003-08) before moving to London in September 2008.
Pavlyuchenko played eight league games against Rubin with Spartak, winning three and losing five. He scored from the penalty spot in two of those three victories.
Ukrainian striker Serhiy Rebrov was a Spurs player between 2000 and 2004 and ended his career with a spell at Rubin.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp spent the bulk of his playing career with West Ham United FC and AFC Bournemouth, and managed both clubs prior to spells with Portsmouth FC and Southampton FC. He has been in charge at Tottenham since 2008.
Kurban Berdyev has been at the Rubin helm since 2001, with the Turkmenistan-born coach leading them to Russian titles in 2008 and 2009. Rubin captain Roman Sharonov once said of his serious-minded boss: "He has football in his mind 24 hours a day. If I thought about football that much I would probably lose my mind."
Coverage of Rubin Kazan vs. Tottenham Hotspurs begins at 4:30pm on Multi-TV.
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