Tottenham vs Villarreal live: Team news and line-ups in 2025/26 Champions League

Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Palhinha, Bentancur, Sarr; Kudus, Kolo Muani, Simons.

Villarreal XI: Junior; Mourino, Foyth, Veiga, Cardona; Buchanan, Gueye, Parejo, Moleiro; Pepe, Mikautadze.

Tottenham’s Champions League clash with Villarreal kicks off at 8pm on Tuesday 16 September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

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Villarreal will face a late fitness test for experienced striker Gerard Moreno, while Logan Costa, Pau Cabanes and Willy Kambwala are out. Returning to North London will be Juan Foyth, who is expected to start against his former employers, as well as ex-Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe, who has just been voted the LaLiga player of the season for August. Spurs loanee Manor Solomon is also eligible to face his parent club but will struggle to break into the starting XI.

Dominic Solanke missed Tottenham’s demolition of West Ham on the weekend and is a big doubt for Tuesday as he nurses an ankle injury. He will likely join confirmed absentees James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski – both of whom are out with long-term injuries – while Mathys Tel and Yves Bissouma are ineligible after being snubbed from the squad. New signing Randal Kolo Muani could make his debut up top in Solanke’s stead.

Tottenham embark on what six months ago seemed an impossibility as they kick off their Champions League campaign at home to Villarreal.

Spurs finished a dismal 17th in the Premier League last term but managed to qualify for Europe’s premier competition through victory in the Europa League final, beating fellow strugglers Manchester United to win their first trophy in 17 years.

And under new manager Thomas Frank, they’ve started the season in fitting fashion of a Champions League team, racking up nine points from 12 in the league after taking European champions Paris Saint-Germain to the wire in the Super Cup.

They take on Spanish outfit Villarreal in their league phase opener, who have similarly started the season in fine stead and are fifth in LaLiga after four games.

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of tonight’s Champions League match between Tottenham and Villarreal.

The hosts look to get off to the perfect start on their return to Europe’s top club competition, while the Spanish side are hoping to spring a surprise in London.

We’ll have all the latest team news, updates and build-up right here.