tottenham hotspur fc striker peter crouch wants to tie up first place in group a to avoid "the big teams" but fc twente's roberto rosales has other ideas for tuesday's encounter.
peter crouch has promised that tottenham hotspur fc will be going all out to win group a despite having already qualified for the knockout stages in their first uefa champions league campaign.
harry redknapp's men head into their final game at fc twente leading fc internazionale milano at the top of the section thanks to their head-to-head record and crouch wants the london club to remain there after tuesday's matches to ensure they avoid the competition's heavyweights in next friday's round of 16 draw.
"we have a good chance of finishing top of the table," said the england striker. "we don't want just one point, we want three. it is very important for us so we don't meet the big teams from the other groups. we have played well in this campaign and it has been a great competition for us. we beat the european champions [inter] quite convincingly. we all really enjoyed it and want a lot more but we have much work to do."
spurs have adapted well to their new challenge of combining uefa champions league football with domestic progression. they have risen to fifth in the premier league table thanks to a five-match unbeaten run and qualified for the last 16 in europe following a 3-0 matchday 5 success against sv werder bremen, but crouch insists they must maintain their performance levels if they are to challenge for honours.
"i hope we can continue our current form," said the 29-year-old, who has scored three goals in group a to add to his play-off hat-trick against bsc young boys. "we are convinced about winning after our recent good results and are making progress all the time in this competition. i have nothing to fear in this campaign and can score goals.
"we have had a good period in the champions league as well as in the premier league. we want to continue that, just like arsenal have over recent years, but this game against twente will be different. it will be a tough game but we have the confidence to get a good result."
twente are guaranteed to finish third in the group but before they switch their focus to the uefa europa league, right-back roberto rosales wants to settle a score with spurs after his side's 4-1 loss at white hart lane on matchday 2. "revenge for the away match against the spurs?" said the 22-year-old. "we were disappointed after that game and want a victory tomorrow. we will never forget that match there. we played a good game.
"if possible, i will try to go forward against spurs but that depends on the situation," added the venezuelan international. "the away match gave us possibilities to attack but we have to watch out for their attacking strength. spurs are a good team but we want to get a good result in our last champions league game."
