<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/tottenham-hotspur/" target="_blank">Tottenham Hotspur</a> are facing a make-or-break Champions League clash with Marseille on Tuesday. Antonio Conte's team take on the Ligue 1 side at the Stade Velodrome in France with their Group D fortunes on a knife edge. They currently sit top of the group with eight points, one ahead of Sporting Lisbon and Eintracht Frankfurt, with Marseille bottom on six points – but OM can leapfrog Spurs in they defeat the North London club. Tottenham would already have sealed their place in the knockout stages if they had beaten Sporting Lisbon last time out, but were held to a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/10/27/antonio-conte-furious-at-damage-created-by-var-after-tottenham-held-by-sporting/" target="_blank">1-1 draw at home by the Portuguese club</a>. That match saw Conte shown a red card that means he is banned from the touchline on Tuesday, after the Italian coach protested too vociferously against Harry Kane's late goal being disallowed after a VAR check. Former Spurs youngster Marcus Edwards gave Sporting a deserved first-half lead before Rodrigo Bentancur levelled with 10 minutes to go. “This decision creates a big damage, I hope the club understands this,” said Conte of his red card. “I think the club has to be strong. I repeat that this situation creates a big damage. “I would like to see if you can take this type of decision with a top team in an important game. I would like to see if VAR is so brave to take this decision.” Conte also insisted that he should not have been sent off because he “didn’t insult anyone” and never crossed the touchline. On Saturday, Spurs fought back from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 in the Premier League and striker Harry Kane has urged his teammates to be ready from the off in France. “This [win against the Cherries] sets us up nicely for the week,” said the England captain. “Tuesday is going to be a really tough game, especially with only a couple of days’ rest in between. “We have to be ready for it and there’s another big game on Sunday [against Liverpool] as well. “Overall, it’s just important to get back to winning ways in the Premier League. It keeps us up there, in and around the top. “It’s important for momentum and now we go to Marseille with a good feeling.” You can see images of Spurs players training ahead of the Marseille game in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.
