By STEVE DOUGLAS, AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP)—Inter Milan will be wary of in-form Tottenham winger Gareth Bale when it travels to White Hart Lane looking to seal qualification to the knockout stage of the Champions League.
The defending champions were cruising 4-0 at the San Siro two weeks ago before Bale scored a second-half hat trick to almost rescue a draw for Spurs.
The onus will be on the Wales international and Netherlands playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, who looks to have shrugged off a hamstring strain, to spark Tottenham’s attack in a match between Group A’s top two teams.
“It’s a bit surreal, to be honest, and I don’t really see myself as in the spotlight,” Bale said. “To get that hat trick was something I’ll never forget and it stands right up there anything I’ve achieved.
“That was great on a personal level but we lost on the night, so there was also that feeling of disappointment. We want to give it a go (on Tuesday). They are the European champions, we want to test ourselves against the best and it doesn’t come much bigger than this.”
After winning its last two matches, Inter leads the group with seven points — three above Spurs—and will reach the last 16 if it completes the double over Harry Redknapp’s side.
Striker Samuel Eto’o has scored in each of Inter’s first three games, and his six goals in total—including two against Tottenham—makes him the leading scorer in this season’s tournament.
Inter coach Rafael Benitez is awaiting fitness updates on two of his key players—midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and goalkeeper Julio Cesar—after both came off during Friday’s 1-0 win over Genoa in Serie A with hamstring strains.
Benitez, who could partner fit-again striker Diego Milito with Eto’o up front, will know all about Spurs from his six years in England in charge of Liverpool.
Van der Vaart limped off with a hamstring injury during Spurs’ 2-0 league loss to Manchester United on Saturday but trained on Monday and should start.
Werder Bremen hosts FC Twente in the group’s other match, with both sides currently on two points.
Werder lost 3-2 at home to Nuremberg in the German league and slipped to 11th place in the table. Captain Torsten Frings criticized his teammates for a lack of commitment but sees the match against Dutch champion Twente as a chance to make amends.
“This is a good opportunity to take a great step forward,” Frings said.
Fellow midfielder Marko Marin was not so optimistic.
“It’s going to be difficult, the mood in the dressing room is not good,” he said.
Goalkeeper Tim Wiese and defenders Clemens Fritz and Petri Pasanen are still recovering from injuries and will not feature for Werder.
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