Tottenham Hotspur are likely to start Michael Dawson following a long-term layoff for their third-round tie against Cheltenham Town on Saturday.

The Premier League side are expected to call on the defender after four months on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.

Spurs are expected to field a relatively strong side against Cheltenham, with Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe tipped to start for the North London side.

Harry Redknapp is likely to leave out winger Gareth Bale as well as striker Emmanuel Adebayor and playmaker Scott Parker, as the former West Ham United player continues to overcome a knee injury.

Cheltenham head into the fixture at White Hart Lane off a nine-game unbeaten run. Jimmy Spencer is expected to start following a bout of flu and Marlon Pack should be in the League Two side's starting lineup, despite suffering a knock this week.

Current Form:

Tottenham Hotspur: LWDWDW
Cheltenham Town: WWDDWW

Possible lineups:

Tottenham Hotspur: Cudicini; Corluka, Dawson, Bassong, Rose; Lennon, Livermore, Kranjcar, Pienaar; Defoe, Pavlyuchenko

Cheltenham Town: Brown; Jombati, Bennett, Elliott, Garbutt; Summerfield, Pack, Penn, Spencer; Duffy, Mohamed

Sports Mole says: 2-0