Wednesday 13 March 2013 20:21, UK
Andre Villas-Boas intends to pick a strong team against Inter Milan and does not view the game as a chance for Tottenham Hotspur to prove they can cope without Gareth Bale.
Making the last eight of the competition at the expense of a club who have won three Champions Leagues and 18 Serie A titles would reaffirm Tottenham's position as favourites to reach the final and lift the trophy in Amsterdam on May 15. "We had very difficult draws for the last 32 and last 16 in Lyon and Inter Milan. They are two teams used to playing Champions League football and who are full of European experience," Villas-Boas said. "It's been a brilliant experience so far and it shows the route we've chosen to take, by playing it seriously, has paid off in terms of these fixtures, which has been amazing. "Hopefully if we can manage to overcome Inter we can put ourselves in a strong position (to win it), although we admit there are still some very strong teams in the mix." Villas-Boas confirmed Aaron Lennon and Emmanuel Adebayor have travelled to Milan after they overcame the respective hamstring and knee injuries that ruled them out of Sunday's 3-2 defeat at Liverpool. The Spurs boss will start Brad Friedel in goal ahead of Hugo Lloris, and the former Blackburn keeper has warned his team-mates they must not think they have already won the tie when they step out. "We will play it like it's 0-0," the 41-year-old said. "It's a difficult place to play so we will have to be at our best. You have to take the 3-0 out of your mind."