Dele Alli will miss Tottenham 's Champions League opener against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday through suspension.

Alli serves the first of a three-match ban for his red card picked up against Gent in February, with Son Heung-min likely to take his place at Wembley behind Harry Kane.

Danny Rose and Victor Wanyama (both knee) are out, along with Erik Lamela and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, who are still recovering from hip and foot problems respectively.

Suspension has robbed Pochettino of Dele Alli for the first three group matches but there is still goal-scoring potential, allied with defensive steel, in his side.

Dele Alli serves the first of a three-match ban (
Image:
Reuters)

“It’s true that it’s a competition that is tough,” added Pochettino. “I think it’s at the same level of the Premier League with the amount of focus and energy [you need], it’s massive. Maybe the same or more than the Premier League.

“It was a very painful experience [last season] because we could not be at the level we are at today. It’s not an excuse. We know that this will be very tough. But we are ready to compete at a higher level.”

Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Gazzaniga, Davies, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Foyth, Trippier, Aurier, Walker-Peters, Dembele, Dier, Winks, Eriksen, Sissoko, Son, Llorente, Kane.

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