Tottenham to take slender first leg lead over BVB
Jose Breton- Pics Action / Shutterstock.com
Tottenham host Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night in what should be a very entertaining match for neutrals. Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs head into the fixture having won four straight Premier League matches. Tottenham have solidified their third-place position on the domestic front and now take on the Bundesliga league leaders.
Dortmund have been on a roll in Germany. The yellow and black are five games unbeaten. However, manager Lucien Favre has watched his team lose some of its cutting edge recently. Dortmund have drawn back to back league fixtures against Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim. Despite being high-quality opponents, Dortmund were expected to pick up wins in both games.
Tottenham will be without Harry Kane who continues to rehab his latest ankle injury. The Englishman’s loss will be felt against Dortmund as he has scored 19 goals in 30 games in all competitions. Four of those strikes came in the Champions league group stage. Kane isn’t the only Tottenham star out of Wednesday night’s last-16 first leg as midfielder Dele Alli is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Alli has played just 24 times in all competitions for Spurs this term. Pochettino has had to learn to live without the playmaker.
Pochettino will be able to include Eric Dier and Erik Lamela in his team. Both players sat out Spurs’ win over Leicester at the weekend.
Dortmund have their own injury worries ahead of their trip to Wembley. Captain Marco Reus has been ruled out of the game. Reus is suffering from a thigh injury and his absence will give Tottenham’s defence a huge boost. The forward has scored 13 goals while contributing nine assists to Dortmund’s Bundesliga campaign.
One Dortmund player with a lot to prove on Wednesday night is Jadon Sancho. The 18-year-old grew up in London before joining Manchester City’s academy. Sancho was never given an opportunity with the Cityzens and has kick-started his career with Dortmund. The teen has displaced Chelsea’s January transfer signing Christian Pulisic in the team. In 29 games in all competitions, Sancho has tallied 10 assists and eight goals.
Both clubs will be missing their most electric players for the tie. The absence of both Kane and Reus will level the playing field somewhat. But both clubs still have some tremendously talented players. Playing in front of their home support, Tottenham will get the upper hand in the first leg. Although Spurs will gain a narrow win, Dortmund will get an important away goal to take back to Germany for the second leg.
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