Gareth Bale will struggle to control himself if he scores late winner for Real Madrid against Tottenham

The Welshman will face his former club for the first time in a competitive setting

Bale is expecting a completely different atmosphere at Wembley (Getty)

Gareth Bale has admitted he will struggle to control himself should he score the winner for Real Madrid in his return to face Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were drawn in what is widely regarded as the Champions League ‘group of death’ alongside holders and 12-time winners Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Apoel Nicosia.

It will be the first time Bale has faced the club he left in a world-record £86m deal in 2013 in a competitive environment, although it will be in an unfamiliar environment, with Tottenham now playing home games at Wembley rather than White Hart Lane.

“It [White Hart Lane] was that typical old style British stadium,” he told the Daily Mail. “The fans were on top of you and the atmosphere stayed in. It’s a big difference to the new stadiums where it's harder to generate the same sort of noise.

“It's going to be a big miss for them but with modern football I suppose other things are taken into consideration, clubs have to maximize revenue and they can't just think about what arena makes for the best atmosphere for the players to play in.

“The atmosphere [at Wembley] is not quite as on top of you but you can still make it your fortress. Your home is where you build from and you need to make it difficult for teams.”

Bale has good memories from Tottenham but also insisted he sees Southampton as his football home and Spurs as where he grew up, and admitted he couldn’t promise he would celebrate if he did manage to score against his old club.

“I scored against Spurs in a pre-season game a couple of years ago and I didn't really celebrate then,” he added.

“I suppose it depends on how you feel on the day. If it's a 91st-minute winner, can you control yourself? That's the question.”