Massimiliano Allegri, the Milan coach, said his side can prevail at White Hart Lane after insisting Tottenham Hotspur's first‑leg victory had "flattered them". The Rossoneri have been hit by injury and suspension with Andrea Pirlo, Filippo Inzaghi, Massimo Ambrosini and Gennaro Gattuso absent. Alexandre Pato, who missed the weekend win over Juventus with a fever, says he is "100% fit" while the former Spurs midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng is also available after hobbling off on Saturday with a twisted ankle.

"We can qualify, because we're a strong team and because, in the first leg, we lost a strange game," Allegri said. "We know we'll be facing a team of fine players who are doing very well in the Premier League, and who have proved to be competitive in the Champions League as well. But it wouldn't be an historic achievement to go through. We're talking about coming back from a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, a result which flattered Spurs."

Mathieu Flamini who spent four seasons with Arsenal and was unbeaten in his five north London derbies, will start in central midfield for Milan claiming he has "no regrets" for the two-footed tackle that damaged Vedran Corluka's ankle in the first game. "I'm sorry he got injured but I don't have any regrets. I expect a hot reception at White Hart Lane but I'm ready for anything. There is extra motivation to play against Spurs."

The visitors arrive in excellent recent form but with history against them. Milan have won only once in England in the revamped Champions League, in 2005 when Manchester United were defeated 1-0 at Old Trafford, in 14 previous visits and have only once recovered from a first-leg deficit conceded at home to progress. That came back in the 1955-56 season against Saarbrücken. "We'll have to put in a real team performance," added Allegri. "But we have individual players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is playing the best season of his career, so we can do well."