Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte is set to make his return to the dugout this evening, with the serial-winning coach hoping to steer his side past Italian champions AC Milan in the Champions League, last-16 second-leg encounter.

Trailing 1-0 from the reverse fixture at San Siro, the Lilywhites are still firmly in the mix to secure progression to the quarter-final stage for the first time since the surge to the showpiece during the 2018/19 campaign.

There will be concern, however, as to whether the north London outfit can overturn that deficit amid what has been a rather disappointing last few days domestically, having most recently lost away to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.

That frustrating defeat at Molineux may well inspire the returning Conte to ring the changes for the visit of the Serie A outfit, with veteran defender Ivan Perisic one man who could well make way following his drab performance against the Old Gold.

Will Perisic play against Milan?

Saturday's defeat saw the experienced Croatian produce a distinctly underwhelming display at left wing-back, with the 34-year-old having won just four of his ten duels on the day, while his match rating of 6.4, as per Sofascore, was the joint-lowest of any starting player for the visitors.

It was the former Inter Milan man's woes offensively that particularly caught the eye, however, as the versatile gem simply "contributed nothing in attack" in the words of writer Andrew Gaffney, having been a "liability", completing just two of his ten crosses and laying on just a solitary key pass.

Those struggles also saw the 123-cap machine lose the ball a staggering 20 times from just 57 touches and record a pass accuracy rate of only 67%, having simply 'lacked quality' in the final third, according to football.london's Alasdair Gold.

The hope will be that Persisic's surprise inclusion - after having started on the bench in the wins over both Chelsea and West Ham United - was merely with tonight's game in mind, with the £180k-per-week dud likely to drop out of the side once again.

Although the 6 foot 1 asset may know all about today's opposition following his previous stint in Milan, he notably underwhelmed in the first-leg meeting between the two sides, having been 'subdued and disappointing' according to the Evening Standard's Dan Kilpatrick.

The Split-born brute may have won eight of his nine ground duels in that narrow defeat as a marker of his commendable work ethic, but there was a lack of end product to go with that relentlessness, having again been careless in possession after losing the ball on 19 occasions.

As such, it would be no surprise if Ben Davies - who started at centre-back for the trip to the Midlands - is to revert back to his recent role on the flanks, with Perisic's shortcomings set to cost him a place in such a crucial, season-defining fixture.