Champions League football tip: Milan set to dominate depleted Tottenham

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was always suspended for this one after collecting his third yellow of the competition against Marseille in matchday six. Conte would have no doubt chosen summer signing Yves Bissouma to take the Dane's place, but sadly the former Brighton player has fractured his ankle and is ruled out for this clash.

Things grew worse for Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, when not only did they lose heavily 4-1 to a struggling Leicester City side, but also lost another vital defensive midfielder in the process. A clash with Kelechi Iheanacho saw Rodrigo Bentancur suffer a serious anterior cruciate ligament, meaning that the Uruguayan will not play football again this season.

First choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is still out, meaning an extended run between the sticks for Fraser Forster, whilst wing-back Ryan Sessegnon has also joined the growing injury list.

Without Lloris and all three preferred defensive midfielders unavailable; just how does Antonio Conte stop Italian champions AC Milan on their home patch?

It is likely that Oliver Skipp will get the nod in midfield, but at just 22 years of age this is a huge game for the inexperienced midfielder. Eric Dier is the most likely to step forward to provide experience alongside Skipp, but Dier is a natural centre back and despite playing midfield on the odd occasion in the past, the England international is unlikely to be a comfortable fit.

Those three missing players in the middle of the park for Spurs are all considered to be excellent pressers of the opposition, an attribute that Dier and Skipp lack in comparison, and this is likely to be an aspect of the game that AC Milan feel confident in dominating.

As for the Italian Champions, they also have some personnel issues. They will miss their first-choice goalkeeper in Mike Maignan, whilst full-backs Florenzi and Dest are both injured. Ismael Bennacer was touch and go this week, and it appears likely this game has come too soon for him, while English central defender Fikayo Tomori is also a doubt.

With this being a two-legged tie, it is likely that Antonio Conte will look to sit his team deep and attempt to cause damage on the counterattack, with the view of just staying in the tie for the return leg on March 8.

The goal scoring prowess of Harry Kane will always be a threat to any side, and with Heung-Min Son alongside Dejan Kulusevksi complementing the attack, AC Milan will have to be wary of overcommitting.

Sadly for Tottenham, Bentancur and Hojbjerg are often the players who begin the Tottenham counterattacks with their high pressing capabilities combined with their high quality passing ranges, and that gap will be difficult to fill.

There are not many sides across Europe who can cope with losing their favoured three central midfielders, especially not against opponents of the calibre of AC Milan.

The pace and explosiveness of the likes of Milan's Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez would be a danger on any day, but combined with Tottenham missing the major parts of their midfield engine, then we should see AC Milan dominate the game in terms of ball retention, overall possession and chances created.

Stefan Pioli will hold a strong desire to take a lead to London for the second leg in three weeks time. While AC Milan have been in a slight lull domestically, the Italian giants should have too much for an injury-ravaged Tottenham side.

With all this in mind, the Rossoneri on a draw no bet line at home is very enticing at 1.75 with PlanetSportBet.

Paul Bathurst provides football tips as Soccer Sharp on the Tipstrr platform