Lewis Holtby believes his understanding with Jermain Defoe will flourish if they start for Tottenham against Anzhi Makhachkala tonight.
Spurs are in Russia seeking to take an early grip on their Europa League group after defeating Tromso 3-0 in the opening round of matches.
The pair combined well in that game, in which Defoe scored twice, and Holtby is optimistic they can repeat the trick against Anzhi.
“One of my key strengths is to set up the strikers and that is one of the main reasons why Tottenham bought me,” said Holtby, who moved to White Hart Lane from Schalke last January. “I link up with Jermain and the other forward very well so I hope against Anzhi I can do similar things if I get the chance. The main thing for us is to win.
“If you see the group, we have to be confident with the aims and the qualities we have. We’ve had a very good unbeaten run and the result against Chelsea was okay. We’re near the top of the Premier League and in the Europa League we’ve already got off the mark.
“So we’re full of confidence as we prepare for this game but it’s going to be tough. We have to be up for it.”
Anzhi appear far from the force they once were, with Samuel Eto’o and Willian having departed as part of a drastic cost-cutting exercise.
