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Tottenham Hotspur's Italian head coach Antonio Conte during a press conference at the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Training Ground, in Enfield, near London on the eve of their Champions League round of 16 second-leg match against AC Milan. Image Credit: AFP

Dubai: Tottenham Hotspur take on AC Milan at home in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, seeking to overturn the one-goal deficit incurred in the first leg.

While the first game saw an early goal by Brahim Diaz secure Milan’s 1-0 win, both clubs come to the reunion after suffering lowly domestic defeats.

Tottenham’s recent losses to Sheffield United in the FA Cup and Wolves in the Premier League have left them without silverware for another season and facing elimination from the last 16 for the third time in four years.

Despite this, the club has cause for optimism, having prevented Manchester City, Chelsea, and West Ham from scoring in their last three home games.

90 minutes away

Milan, too, are in a position to advance, as they sit just 90 minutes away from reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2011-12.

However, they lost 1-0 against Fiorentina last time out and will need to overcome a weak record of two wins from their last eight away games without top players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Tottenham will welcome back Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from his European ban and coach Antonio Conte too after the Italian had gallbladder surgery last month.