Pacos de Ferreira vs Tottenham: Date, time, TV channel, stream, team news, odds

Tottenham travel to Portugal to take on Pacos de Ferreira in the first of their two-legged play-off round, as they look to book a spot in the inaugural Europa Conference League group stage.

The north London club, now guided by Nuno Espirito Santo, were placed into the play-off round after finishing seventh in the Premier League last season.

Having become accustomed to Champions League football, Europa League as a minimum, the new format is somewhat of a step down for Tottenham.

However, it represents a real opportunity for Nuno to win a trophy in his debut season, while it's also a chance for the likes of Bryan Gil, Cristian Romero and Pierluigi Gollini to get up to speed.

In a major boost for Tottenham, Harry Kane is now back in training and has been selected in the 25-man squad, though Sportsmail understands he's unlikely to travel.

They come up against Pacos, who finished fifth in the Primeira Liga last season and have a win and a loss in their two league games to date in the current campaign.

With the match-up swiftly approaching, Sportsmail takes you through the all-important details.

What is the Europa Conference League?

First, a quick reminder as to what the Europa Conference League actually is.

The format comes in as a new tournament, running alongside the pre-existing Champions League and Europa League competitions.

UEFA are determined to give more clubs the opportunity to play European football, which is why they have introduced the new format.

'The new UEFA club competition makes UEFA's club competitions more inclusive than ever before,' UEFA president Aleksandr Ceferin said of the tournament.

'There will be more matches for more clubs, with more associations represented in the group stages.'

When is Pacos de Ferreira vs Tottenham?

Tottenham take on Pacos de Ferreira in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off round on Thursday, August 19.

The match, which will be played at Estadio Capital do Movel in Pacos de Ferreira, will kick-off at 7.30pm BST.

The return leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will then take place a week later on Thursday, August 26.

How to watch the Europa Conference League clash

Pacos de Ferreira vs Tottenham will be televised live on BT Sport 2.

Existing customers able to watch the fights either on television or by streaming it on the BT app or website, while non-subscribers can also watch it by purchasing a monthly pass for £25 with no contract involved.

Sportsmail will also be running a live blog, so you can keep up-to-date with us.

Team news

The big news for Tottenham is that Kane is back training with the first-team and has been selected as part of Nuno's 25-man squad.

The England captain was absent entirely for Tottenham's opening-day 1-0 win over Manchester City, having returned from holiday late.

Sportsmail understands City tabled a whopping £125million bid for Kane last week, which is below Tottenham's £150m valuation.

It's understood that Kane is unlikely to make the trip to Portugal for Wednesday's tie.

In addition to Kane, Tanguy Ndombele's absence is set to continue, having been left out of the squad, alongside Serge Aurier.

Ryan Sessegnon has also stepped up his recovery from injury in an U23s encounter against Chelsea, but he also won't be involved.

Meanwhile, new signing Cristian Romero made his debut with a brief cameo against City and could once again be involved, while Bryan Gil could also feature.

Pacos de Ferreira vs Tottenham: The odds

Tottenham have been more familiar to higher level competition in recent years, having reached the final of the Champions League in 2019 and the last 16 of the Europa League last season.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the north London outfit are the overwhelming favourites to come out on top on Thursday night.

They are favoured at 40/85 to get the win, with the home side the major underdogs at 9/2, Meanwhile, a draw is at 16/5.

*Odds as per Betfair and correct at the time of publication.