Europa Conference League: Vitesse Arnhem the visitor for Conte’s Tottenham debut

Before making his return to the touchline in the Premier League, Antonio Conte’s first match in charge of Tottenham Hotspur will come in the Europa Conference League on Thursday when his new side plays host to Vitesse Arnhem. The inaugural Europa Conference League offers a viable path to silverware for Conte at Spurs, but they are already playing catch-up at the halfway stage in Group G. A 1-0 defeat away to Vitesse in the Netherlands a fortnight ago left Tottenham in third place with four points, two points behind the Dutch side and three adrift of group leader Rennes. “In Europe we did a real good job until now and we want to go on like this.” The most eye-catching result in the last round of games in Europe’s new third-tier competition saw Norwegian champion Bodo/Glimt hammer Jose Mourinho’s Roma 6-1 to go top of Group C. The teams now meet again in Rome with Mourinho’s side on a run of just one win in five games, while its opponent heads from north of the Arctic Circle to Italy in buoyant mood - it is also closing in on a second straight Norwegian title. Hammers eye knockouts In the Europa League, West Ham United heads to Belgium to play Genk with a chance of securing its place in the knockout stage with two games to spare in Group H. David Moyes’s side is flying high in the Premier League, while in Europe it has won all three group outings so far, all without conceding a goal.