Escudé ready for White Hart pain

With his side holding a slim 2-1 advantage at the halfway stage, Sevilla FC defender Julien Escudé is anticipating a busy night at Tottenham Hotspur FC when the two UEFA Cup rivals conclude their quarter-final on Thursday.

In the balance
A thrilling start to the first-leg saw Robbie Keane fire the visitors ahead after just 68 seconds, but the holders battled back through Frédéric Kanouté and Aleksandr Kerzhakov to leave the tie fascinatingly poised. "It's always great to win but it's going to be very hard over there," predicted Escudé, who set up Kerzhakov for the Russian's 36th-minute winner. "We're in for a difficult 90 minutes. We know how good Tottenham are, especially at home with their fans behind them."

Attacking duo
As a key member of the Spanish outfit's rearguard, the 27-year-old is particularly wary of the danger posed by Keane and strike partner Dimitar Berbatov, who combined well to engineer the opener in Andalusia and will be looking to spread panic again at White Hart Lane. "It's tricky defending against strikers of their calibre," Escudé told uefa.com. "We already knew about them, but we learned a lot. We didn't really get to grips with them at the start and, with players like Keane and Berbatov, that can be fatal."

Midfield strength
The former AFC Ajax stopper finds much to admire in the English club's approach, in fact, adding: "They're very impressive in midfield, with a lot of strength and pace. They get the ball forward quickly and keep creating chances for the front two, who are very good technically and always seem to make the right run."

International ambition
A mere one point behind Primera División leaders FC Barcelona following this weekend's goalless draw with Real Racing Club Santander, these are certainly exciting times for Sevilla. One consequence of that has been Escudé's promotion to the France side and, having collected a third international cap in last month's Austria friendly, the brother of tennis player Nicolas Escudé hopes a strong defensive display in London will further his international claims.

Important matches
"We're not one of Europe's biggest clubs but we get results and that's always crucial," he said. "Playing good teams in important UEFA Cup matches is exactly what gets you noticed. The coach [Raymond Domenech] follows all the French players abroad, so now it's just a question of putting in good performances and continuing our run." Should he help keep Keane and Berbatov's powder dry, Domenech will surely not be alone in saluting Escudé's achievement.