Hello and welcome to Welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Champions League tie between Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium. The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, leaving them in pole position to progress through to the last-16 stage of the competition. Victory for either side tonight will be enough to make certain of a place in the next round, as both aim to bounce back from disappointing league defeats last weekend.

Tottenham went down 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford to make it two defeats in a row overall, while Madrid suffered another surprise loss as they fell 2-1 at newly-promoted Girona. Both teams have performed well on the European stage so far, however, winning two and drawing one of their first three games, and another draw tonight under the famous arch would likely suit Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Lloris; Trippier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Davies, Dier, Winks, Eriksen; Alli; Kane

SUBS: Vorm, Aurier, Rose, Dembele, Sissoko, Son, Llorente

The big news as far as the home team are concerned is that top scorer Harry Kane is passed fit to start. Pochettino revealed a little over 24 hours that he was confident the England international would be OK to feature from the off tonight, and that has proved to be the case as he comes into the side as one of three changes from the loss at Old Trafford four days ago.

Davinson Sanchez and Kieran Trippier are the other two players to be welcomed back, taking up places along the back, though this will likely be a 3-5-2 formation of sorts as Trippier and fellow wing-back Ben Davies are tasked with pushing high up the pitch. Serge Aurier, at fault for the penalty which Cristiano Ronaldo converted from in the reverse fixture a couple of weeks back, is among those to drop out, along with Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko.

This will be Alli's first taste of European action since February, incidentally, as he was given a three-match ban for the red card picked up against Gent in the Europa League. Depending on how adventurous Pochettino is feeling - and he did tell his players to be "brave" this evening - Spurs will likely go with five across the middle and Alli just off Kane. A point would not be a bad result at all, though, so alternatively Davies and Trippier may well spend more of the match alongside their defensive teammates.

REAL MADRID TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Casilla; Achraf, Ramos, Nacho, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Isco; Benzema, Ronaldo

SUBS: Moha, Vallejo, Theo Hernandez, Asensio, Mayoral, Ceballos

No surprises as far as the visitors are concerned, as Zidane picks the XI many expected him to. Karim Benzema, criticised after a fairly underwhelming display in the previous match between these two sides, retains his spot in a two-man frontline alongside Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar, much like his side, has not really got going domestically so far this season, scoring just once in 6 La Liga outings. In Europe, though, it is five goals in three games - identical to Kane's record.

Marco Asensio and Isco have instead had to step up to the plate this term, much like they did for large parts of last season's memorable campaign, scoring 12 goals between them so far. The prolonged absence of former Spurs man Gareth Bale, who has now missed nine games for club and country since pulling up against Borussia Dortmund on September 26, means that Isco has another chance to shine just off the front two; Asensio is among the subs.

Los Blancos also remain without their first-choice keeper, as Keylor Navas has missed another few matches in what has been a stop-start campaign for him, so Iker Casilla will guard the net again this evening. Raphael Varane is the other high-profile absentee, also failing to recover from a slight injury problem, meaning that Nacho partners Sergio Ramos in the heart of defence. Achraf Hakimi has been used regularly down the right in recent weeks, meanwhile, and Marcelo is on the left.

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a major boost ahead of tonight's Group H clash with the news that Harry Kane, the scorer of 13 goals in 12 club appearances this term, is fit to start. The England international comes in as one of three changes from last time out, joining Kieran Trippier and Davinson Sanchez in the XI, while Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane sticks with his front-three diamond of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Isco.

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A big evening ahead in Group H, then, as Spurs and Madrid aim to book their respective spots in the last-16 stage of the competition. Tottenham head into the match on the back of a rather disastrous week, having lost 3-2 to West Ham United to exit the EFL Cup and fallen to a 1-0 loss at the hands of Man United to lose ground on the top two in the Premier League. Thanks to their impressive display at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, though, this is far from a must-win game.

Spurs had been steadily building some momentum prior to those back-to-back defeats, going 11 matches without losing and winning eight of those. Pochettino's gamble to play a weakened team against London rivals West Ham last week, having essentially admitted that he is not all that interested in winning the EFL Cup, did not pay off as the momentum was completely killed off after throwing away a two-goal lead in the second half.

Pochettino will argue that his side were perhaps unfortunate not to leave Old Trafford with a share of the spoils four days ago, however, as that one remained all square with 10 minutes to play and looked certain to end that way. Had the Lilywhites indeed returned to North London with a point, on the back of their 4-1 league triumph over Liverpool a week earlier, they would be sitting a little prettier in the table at this point.

The defeat to United leaves Spurs third in the table and now eight points off leaders City, putting added importance on Sunday's meeting with Crystal Palace. There has been no doubt that the Lilywhites have looked assured on the continent so far, meanwhile, thanks to a 3-1 win over Dortmund here and a 3-1 victory against APOEL in Cyprus to give with that 1-1 draw away to Madrid. A point or more tonight and supporters can begin to save up for another European trip in the New Year.

Tottenham may have come away from the Bernabeu with all three points had things panned out a little differently, seeing Raphael Varane's own goal cancelled out by a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty. Kane played a vital role in the opening goal and, while he did not officially register himself, he still has five goals from three games in Group H - the same amount as Ronaldo, who has reserved his best form for the Champions League in the opening few months of the campaign.

Seventeen in 16 games overall for club and country this season is quite the record for Kane, while it is 38 for the calendar year in Spurs colours. That is better than Ronaldo's 33, but some way off Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi's rather incredible tally of 43 goals. It perhaps came as little surprise, then, to hear Pochettino compare his striker to Madrid's, while Jan Vertonghen went one further by claiming that he would not swap the two players if given the chance.

Spurs had previously gone four Champions League home matches without victory, losing three of those, but it is now two wins on the spin here. They are still desperate to put their Wembley hoodoo to bed for good, which they looked to have achieved prior to that rather incredible defeat to West Ham here a week ago. Chelsea have also left here with all three points in the Premier League in 2017-18, while Burnley and Swansea City earned 1-1 and 0-0 draws respectively.

Tottenham have never previously beaten Spanish opposition on home soil, losing three and drawing two of their previous encounters. Another draw would do nicely tonight, though, you feel, as they still have what is surely a home banker against APOEL to come, on top of the tricky trip to Dortmund on November 21. That said, defeat for the Lilywhites tonight and wins for Dortmund in their next two, the sides are all of a sudden level on points with one fixture left to play.

One good omen for Spurs, however, is that on each of the previous 27 occasions and English side has accrued seven points or more from their first three fixtures, they have made it through to the last 16, stretching back to 2003-04 when the format of the competition was changed. Tottenham are now regulars in UEFA's showpiece competition, appearing at this stage three times in recent years and in successive campaigns for the first time ever. They crashed out in the groups 13 months ago but they look good value to go through this time around.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Real Madrid are unbeaten in five previous European ties between these two sides, winning three and drawing two of those. Three of those encounters have come in the Champions League era, including a 5-0 aggregate win in the 2011 quarter-finals, though more recently they played out a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu to set up this tasty reverse tie tonight.

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Madrid have become the true masters of the Champions League, winning it for the third time in four years last season when beating Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff, ensuring that they became the first side since Bayern Munich in 1976 to return the European Cup. Los Blancos, rather incredibly, have never failed to progress to at least the last-16 stage in 21 previous participations in this competition

Even finishing second, to Dortmund of all teams, came as a real surprise last season having progressed in top spot every year since 2012 - and most years since the competitions inception, in fact! Of course, the risk of producing one of your club's greatest ever seasons - one that has certainly not been bettered since 1958 - is that motivation can become an issue. Zidane has found that out the hard way, with his side not quite at the levels of last season just yet.

The 2-1 loss to Girona at the weekend summed that up nicely, as they dropped points in La Liga for the fourth time already this term. Home draws to Valencia and Levante were damaging; defeat to Real Betis at the Bernabeu even more so; three points thrown away in Catalonia on Sunday just truly staggering. It has been so unlike Zidane's Madrid, who will surely be considered among the greatest of all time once the dust settles on this current era.

Los Blancos did appear to have recovered a little by winning six games either side of their Spurs draw, but the Girona setback leaves them four points off Valencia in second and eight off pacesetters Barcelona, who just look far too consistent to let that gap close over the coming weeks and months. Madrid are now essentially in a position whereby they cannot really afford to drop a single point this side of the winter break - a tough ask when Atletico Madrid are their first opponents after the international break.

DID YOU KNOW? Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 30 Champions League group-stage matches, dropping points on just eight occasions, with their last defeat coming away to Borussia Dortmund in October 2012. The back-to-back defending champions have failed to score in just one of their last 53 games at this stage, meanwhile - a goalless draw with Paris Saint-Germain in October 2015 - and have been kept out once in 82 matches overall at domestic and European level.

With kickoff now less than 10 minutes away at Wembley Stadium, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.

Mauricio Pochettino: "Of course this is a game that you have to be brave in. When you are playing against the best team in the world, if you are not brave, it is so difficult. You start losing. And yes we are going to be brave. For me it is it is important that our mentality is right good, we are going to try to play without fear, and dominate the game and try to win with that mentality."

Zinedine Zidane: "Perhaps some people might think that after a defeat we are down in the dumps but that's not the case. We all know how football works, sometimes you are going to lose matches and it's obviously frustrating. After a defeat people aren't happy but in some ways I like this. I like that we have a big game coming up. I feel I work my best in these situations."

Pochettino has urged his players "to be brave" this evening, much like he did two weeks ago ahead of the reverse match. On that occasion the Lilywhites were reserved but showed enough to take the lead and hold on for a massive point, though we may well see the full-backs pushed higher up the field tonight. The Spurs boss believes that Madrid are still the "best side in the world", yet on current form they are certainly there for the taking.

If Zidane's comments are anything to go by, meanwhile, then Spurs had better brace themselves because he is after a serious response tonight. Los Blancos are already eight points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga following their latest setback, coming away to Girona four days ago, and it is getting to the point where they will have to focus solely on the Champions League. This is very much their pride and joy, having enjoyed pretty much an exclusive hold on it over the past four years.

Both sets of players have now made their way into the tunnel area, with kickoff in the English capital just a couple of minutes away. This is arguably the pick of the matchday four ties, as Real Madrid - 12-time European Cup winners - compete at this famous venue for the first time ever in front of a sold-out crowd. Despite their pedigree, recent form suggests that Tottenham can get the job done tonight if they turn up.

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KICKOFF! Real Madrid, without defeat in the Champions League group stage in five years, gets us under way at Wembley Stadium. Victory for Los Blancos tonight, or indeed Tottenham Hotspur, will send them through to the last-16 stage of the competition.

Ronaldo showing off his footwork down the left-hand side early on, but when the ball is played back and worked into the box Lloris is there to collect. Marcelo with a couple of overhit passes so far, as Los Blancos look to find their range.

SAVE! An early shot on goal for Lloris to deal with, comfortably getting his body behind Isco's drive from 25 yards. Too easy for the attacking midfielder, with Spurs backing off their opponents a little too much in the early stages.

A bright start for the visitors, as they win themselves a first corner. Isco delivers it and Ramos was there to attack, heading it wide of the opposition goal under pressure from returning Spurs centre-back Davinson Sanchez.

Trippier with a ball from deep which has a little too much on it for Kane, allowing stand-in stopper Casilla to collect. An open start to the contest in the first nine minutes, in front of a full-capacity crowd, but just the one real attempt so far.

Home fans unhappy as Alli is dispossessed. The visitors soon lose possession themselves and Kane was very nearly in, taking advantage of some miscommunication between Nacho and Ramos but not quite getting on the end of the pass.

CHANCE! Madrid very sloppy in midfield again as Casemiro is caught on the ball. The pass should have been cut out by Ramos but wasn't, giving Kane a chance to test Casilla from the edge of the area, but his chipped effort was easily plucked out of the air.

Tottenham the side on top at the moment, without being able to create anything clear-cut in front of the visitors' goal. Trippier has just fizzed a first-time volley right across goal, but it went straight out of play without a touch from a teammate.

Spurs have to get the ball into the feet of Kane as often as possible because Nacho and Ramos do not look all that comfortable. Spurs without Varane tonight, of course, while Keylor Navas and Gareth Bale are also missing.

Still goalless in the other Group H match between Dortmund and APOEL at the Westfalenstadion, so Tottenham and Madrid are sitting comfortable at the top of the standings as things stand. Vertonghen's pass is well cut out by Casemiro at the front post.

CHANCE! Los Blancos looking so lax at the moment, struggling to really get going at either end. Winks is picked out in space 15 yards from goal but miscues his attempt, before testing Casilla from a wider position moments later.

A real blow for Spurs following what has been a bright start to the match, as Alderweireld has just pulled up with what appears to be a hamstring injury. The hosts down to 10 men and Ronaldo almost took advantage, only for Vertonghen to produce a big block.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR SUB! Alderweireld was never likely to come back on after tweaking his hamstring, so on comes Moussa Sissoko - a starter at Old Trafford. That will mean Dier shuttling back into the backline and a slight midfield reshuffle.

Tottenham lead the back-to-back European champions through a Dele Alli goal; a richly deserved goal on the basis of the opening half an hour. Trippier has been a real threat down the right and he gets in behind Marcelo again - albeit marginally offside - to send in a sweet cross for Alli to convert from a few yards out.

SAVE! Madrid have been very poor so far but that goal may have woken them up a little, as Casemiro has just curled in a good low effort for Lloris to parry. Not a great save, in truth, relying on Davies to nod the rebound behind.

As things stand Tottenham are clear at the top of Group H on 10 points, three in front of Madrid and, more importantly, nine ahead of third-placed Dortmund. They are walking it, though there is still a long, long way to go both here and in Germany.

SAVE! Barely seen Ronaldo so far in this first half, which really is surprising considering he has 15 goals in his last eight European matches. The Portuguese works a shooting chance and Lloris is there to help it into the side-netting.

GROUP H UPDATE: BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1-0 APOEL

Raphael Guerreiro has given Dortmund the lead they craved at the Westfalenstadion, closing the gap on Madrid to three points. In London, Ronaldo squanders a great chance by picking out Lloris when spotted unmarked 10 yards from goal, despite six Spurs players being inside the box.

Much more like it as far as Los Blancos are concerned over the last five or six minutes, finally showing signs of clicking into gear. They do tend to score in pretty much every match they play, so one goal will unlikely be enough for Spurs to win this one.

SAVE! Decent attempt from Kane, who has five goals in three-and-a-half Group H outings, as he swipes a volleyed attempt on target. Again, routine enough for Casilla, who was there to collect. Such an open feel to the match at the moment.

European champions Madrid have been the better side since Alli opened the scoring 27 minutes in, but they are still looking sloppy when in possession, as witnessed when another overhit pass trickled out of play a few moments ago.

SAVE! Huge block from Ramos, who was well positioned to deny Kane. Sissoko had missed just as good a chance before that, miscuing his shot from eight yards, but Kane should have made the most of the second bite of the cherry.

SAVE! Benzema gets in behind the Spurs defence but rather fizzes his pass into the path of Ronaldo, who fails to adjust his feet four yards out. The most open of contests on our hands here, as Spurs then counter, lose possession and come close to conceding as Benzema sends a well-taken shot on target for Lloris to save.

Home fans unhappy as Alli is denied a penalty late in the first half after bringing down Alli inside the box, though replays show that he did win the ball first. In a further blow for Spurs, Ben Davies is struggling with an injury and will almost certainly make way for Rose at the break, but they do have a one-goal lead to hold onto in the remaining 45 minutes.

The first half proved to be as end-to-end as many predicted, with both keepers being forced into action on a regular basis as they made nine saves between them. All of three minutes had passed before the first of those on-target attempts arrived, as Isco was given a chance to take range after the hosts' defenders backed off him a little too much. Returning striker Harry Kane, deemed fit enough to start tonight after sitting out the last two games, tested Kiko Casilla for the first time with an audacious chipped effort, while Harry Winks initially fluffed his lines from 10 yards out but redeemed himself by getting a shot away from a tighter angle.

Spurs were very much the side on top as the half-hour mark approached and, despite losing Toby Alderweireld to an apparent hamstring injury, they found a breakthrough goal through Dele Alli's close range finish following a fizzed cross from an offside Kieran Trippier down the right-hand side. Los Blancos, who have failed to score in just one of their last 82 matches, responded well as Casemiro and Ronaldo both had shots saved.

Karim Benzema should have done better when getting in behind, only to rather blast his attempted pass into the path of Ronaldo, but he almost redeemed himself soon after with a strong attempt from 20 yards that Hugo Lloris was again there to keep out. Spurs had a couple of opportunities of their own to add a second of the evening, though, both falling to Kane who swiped a volley on target and then had a shot from closer range superbly blocked by Sergio Ramos.

A gripping opening 45 minutes to the contest, then, and fingers crossed the second half will pan out in a similar fashion. Borussia Dortmund are leading APOEL at half time in Group H's other fixture, making things just a tad more interesting, though this contest at Wembley Stadium does have an exhibition feel to it at the moment.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR SUBS: Vorm, Aurier, Rose, Dembele, Son, Llorente

REAL MADRID SUBS: Moha, Vallejo, Theo Hernandez, Asensio, Mayoral, Ceballos

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RESTART! Tottenham Hotspur get us back up and running at the Wembley Stadium and, somewhat surprisingly, Ben Davies has emerged for the second half despite struggling with an injury problem at the end of the opening 45 minutes.

No changes in personnel at the midway point, but Zidane appears to have moved Casemiro into his backline and told his full-backs to get high up the pitch. Not paid off in the opening stages of the second half, though there is still plenty of time to go.

Four-against-three situation for Spurs as they look for a second, but Kane was unable to pick out a pass quickly enough. Like a game of basketball at the moment, with both teams simply taking it in turns to attack the other.

Smart turn from Marcelo, who in turn is wiped out by Sissoko - no booking, in the view of the referee. The free kick is swung into a good area for Lloris to collect, but he falls over Ramos and appears to have tweaked his groin a little.

A worry for Spurs there when Lloris stayed down, but he is fine to continue. Davies also appears to have put his injury worry to one side, having already seen defensive teammate Alderweireld hobble off, but Rose is among those warming up.

The wing-back system paying off for Zidane now, as Marcelo latches on to a ball over the top in acres of space. A half-decent delivery, too, which Ronaldo would have got on the end of if not for Eric Dier's calm defending to intercept three yards out.

Alli has a second of the evening to send Wembley wild! This one had more than an element of luck about it, in truth, as the shot from 17 yards out deflects heavily off Ramos and beats a wrong-footed Casilla. To make things even better for the hosts, APOEL have levelled against Dortmund - Spurs are as good as in the last 16!

In the build-up to that Tottenham goal, which Madrid again could have done better to prevent, Vorm was stripping down ready to replace Lloris. The Frenchman has not really recovered since tweaking what appeared to be his groin under a challenge from Ramos.

The Lilywhites chasing a third now, as Madrid - without a group-stage defeat in five years - continue to fall apart defensively. Moving Casemiro into the back has helped in an attacking sense, but they look likely to ship another at the back.

SHOT! Kroos with a deflected shot that ends over the crossbar, in contrast to Alli's which flew past Casilla. There is then a huge goalmouth scramble from the corner which ends with Ramos smashing the ball into Ronaldo on the line.

How about this for a scoreline!! Tottenham have a third, as they counter through Kane who in turns slips it through for Eriksen. The Dane had just Casilla to beat and he did just that, keeping his cool to tuck the ball home.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR SUB! A quite extraordinary evening at Wembley Stadium, which really does feel like home now as far as Tottenham are concerned. Mousa Dembele is now on for Harry Winks in a like-for-like change in central midfield.

SAVE! Ronaldo, as ever, has been the visitors' best player tonight, sending another shot on target for Lloris to keep out. Zidane will surely change things now, or else his side could well concede a fourth and fifth before the night is over.

A rendition of "OLE! OLE! OLE!" is ringing around Wembley Stadium now - and, unlike most weeks, it is not coming from the Madrid fans. Tottenham supporters cannot quite believe what they are seeing, as their side are taking the European champions apart.

REAL MADRID SUBS! Zidane has waiting an eternity to make these changes, bringing on Asensio and Mayoral for Isco and Benzema. The two men making way have been poor; the players replacing them being given too little time to make an impact.

Thirteen minutes of the match to play and Tottenham are cruising over the line - who'd have thought that before a ball was kicked?! I would say a Madrid goal could change things, but on the basis of the past 77 minutes that will unlikely be the case.

A fourth would be nice for the hosts, but they seem to be happy to settle for just the three at the moment. The chances have dried up at both ends since that Ronaldo chance shortly after Eriksen's third, which sealed the victory.

CHANCE! Alli should have added a fourth as we enter the final 10 minutes, but he could not keep his header down when picked out by Trippier from the right just a few yards out. Kane has now been replaced by Llorente.

Marcelo helps the ball back into a dangerous position and, after a bit of pinball, Ronaldo blasts it past Lloris via a small deflection off Dier. That is 111 Champions League goals for the Portuguese, who has given his side a lifeline.

SAVE! Lloris with a smart save to keep out Ronaldo, who is on a one-man mission to drag his side back in this Group H match. The Portuguese already has one, but until he gets a second the hosts still look very comfortable.

Madrid made a third and final change on the back of that Ronaldo goal, bringing on Theo Hernandez for Modric. The Spanish side dominating possession now and knocking on the door for a second, but Spurs doing what is required to stay afloat.

Llorente was through and probably should have done better with this late chance, which Casilla read well to race out and get to. Ironically, Kane waited all night for a chance like that and it did not arrive - not that he will complain!

YELLOW CARD! Just three minutes added on at the end of the match, with Spurs now within touching distance of the last 16. Ramos has just been cautioned for sarcastically clapping the referee when a decision went against his side. Dembele also cautioned.

We have played two of the five added minutes and Spurs looking as comfortable as ever. Ronaldo's strike 12 minutes ago could have made things interesting, but the visitors - on the brink of back-to-back defeats - failed to push on.

The full-time whistle sounds at Wembley Stadium on a famous night for Tottenham Hotspur. A Cristiano Ronaldo consolation has barely dampened their spirits, as a couple of goals from Dele Alli and one for Christian Eriksen was enough for a hugely impressive 3-1 victory over the back-to-back champions of this competition.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from the English capital. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while a recap of the night's other scores from around the continent can be viewed here. Thanks for joining!