Victory will not, however, be a simple task. Aab were the first Danish team to represent Denmark in the Champions League and, after finishing third in last year's Danish Superliga, the club qualified for the Intertoto Cup. Having overcome FC Honka and Belgian side AA Gent to advance to the first qualification round of the UEFA Cup, the Danes, helped by Swedish forward Rade Prica, beat Sweden's HJK Helsinki to set up a match with Italian team Sampdoria in the first round proper. After earning a creditable 2-2 draw in Genoa, Aalborg went through on away goals after a goalless game at home against a side including Italian internationals Antonio Cassano and Vincenzo Montella.
So Aab are no pushovers, a view taken by their Coach Erik Hamre who is optimistic ahead of Thursdays match: "My philosophy is that everything is possible. If you believe it, if you really believe it, and you're working really hard for it together, then it's possible", he said and, after taking a point off group leaders Anderlecht, his side have every chance of advancing from the group. Ramos will hope for no repeat of our recent defensive lapses, with Younes Kaboul culpable at Upton Park on Sunday. The French U-21 captain was substituted early into the second half against West Ham and replaced with Darren Bent as Ramos moved to a more fluid, attack minded 4-3-3 formation and Alan Curbishley was in no doubt that the move changed the game: "I don't know what he did exactly but it certainly got them back into the match", said one of the few remaining candidates who has yet to rule himself out of the running for the England job. With such tactical acumen, let's hope he doesn't get it.
Whoever lines up at the heart of the Tottenham defence on Thursday will have to be wary of the threat of Swedish striker Rade Prica. Prica scored 19 league goals in the Superliga last season and has become a key member of the squad since his move from Hannor Rostock. Spurs fans will more be familiar with his compatriot Andreas Johansson. The attacking midfielder scored against Tottenham whilst playing for Wigan Athletic and was perhaps most famous during his time in England for being sent off against Arsenal during the final game at Highbury. The match in question holds particular significance because Arsenals victory meant our North London rivals finished fourth and denied us a place in the Champions League.
There is a clear Swedish presence throughout the Aab squad and it was a Swede, Mattias Lindrstrom who scored the goal in the draw against RSC Anderlecht. We travel to Belgium for our final group game and realistically we should be winning this Thursday to give us a chance to top the group and avoid the more prominent sides in the next round. The Dane's themselves have their eyes on qualification and Goalkeeper Karim Zaza insists that his team will not be intimidated.
"Tottenham are a famous international name but we will play without fear and with the aim of causing a massive upset." Said Zara. "A point would be a good result, but we need a victory.
"We have watched Spurs in their last few games and we know they are a strong team. They have a sensational attack and we know they'll be difficult to keep out."
Match Prediction: Tottenham 2 Aab 0 A quick glance over Aalborg's recent results in Europe suggests this will be a tough game. Eliminating Sampdoria was impressive and the Danes are a hard-working, industrious side. Like Tottenham their defence is young and reasonably inexperienced which may well play in to the hands of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov, or whoever Ramos favours to lead the line. The return of Gareth Bale against West Ham is a big plus for the side and his presence should provide the quality of service to ensure the forwards get chances, though the young Welshman must learn when its best to attack and when its more prudent to stay back.
Before the Getafe match a home European tie would normally exude confidence and Ramos will hope that a positive result this Thursday will help re-establish White Hart Lane as a fortress. The Spaniard remains unbeaten since taking over from Martin Jol and recent signs, particularly his willingness to make changes, both to personnel and formation in order to change games. Though the side looked a tad confused after Bent replaced Kaboul on Sunday, they stood firm and the tactical change put us back on the front foot. Hopefully an attacking approach against Aab will prove too much for the Danish team to cope with.