With Real Madrid and Apoel likely to sandwich Spurs and Borussia Dortmund in Group H, this could well be Tottenham’s biggest game of the group. For Mauricio Pochettino’s side, it also represents their best chance at gauging how far they’ve come on the European stage.
A potential ‘glory, glory’ night at Wembley under the lights does not have the appeal it ought to, but the atmosphere should be electric regardless of the hosts’ record at the national stadium. If the ‘curse’ is indeed psychological – Pochettino and his players insist it doesn’t exist at all – then they can take comfort in knowing that this does not look like the Dortmund of the Jurgen Klopp or Thomas Tuchel eras.
Peter Bosz will be without a lengthy list of key men. Marco Reus has been out since May, joined in the treatment room on this occasion by Marc Bartra, captain Marcel Schmelzer, Andre Schürrle, Raphael Guerreiro, Erik Durm, and Sebastian Rode.
Tottenham’s most significant absentee is Danny Rose, who Ben Davies has made a distant memory thanks to his performances in recent weeks. The Welshman has created 13 chances in four games so far this season; only two Premier League players have surpassed him in that regard. Perhaps that’s for the best, as Rose is still likely to be in bad odour with some supporters following his controversial newspaper interview days before the new campaign began.
While Spurs go into the game on the back of a 3-0 win over Everton, Dortmund’s last outing saw them frustrated in a goalless draw against ten-man Freiburg. An Ousmane-Dembele-less BVB look much easier to stifle and losing the starlet to Barcelona has obviously been a hammer blow. Freiburg started well, but the majority of the 90 minutes was drab. There should be little danger of that happening against Spurs, though the Lilywhites will need to ensure they are not forced into the middle too much and are able to employ their wing-backs properly - cue a potential debut for Serge Aurier.
This should be a good time to play the Bundesliga outfit. Spurs’ success could rely on how seriously they take their team selection, a criticism that has been levelled at Pochettino in cup competitions in the past. The last time the two sides met in the Europa League in the 2015/16 season, a weakened Tottenham were outclassed, suffering a 3-0 defeat in the Signal Iduna Park. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored three goals across the two legs.
The Gabon striker was poor against Freiburg, apart from his wrongly disallowed goal. Christian Pulisic and co. struggled to bring him into the game and he didn’t create enough of his own chances. The obvious comparison is going to be with Harry Kane, who is rejoicing in the arrival of September with four in three for club and country. Granted, his first against Everton was meant to be a cross, but the double Golden Boot winner is looking confident.
In fact, the one to watch may be Mario Gotze, who has been impressive under Bosz with his movement off the ball and creativity on it. The World Cup winner was one of the few players who was able to open up Freiburg. At the other end, the normally dependably Sokratis was shaky. As for Tottenham’s own defenders, they should be delighted with Davinson Sanchez’s full debut on Merseyside.
The one major change to the Spurs line-up should see Mousa Dembele return, as the Belgian has to be carefully managed nowadays and it is best to avoid playing him for two full games in a matter of days. They looked much more comfortable on Goodison Park’s smaller, tighter pitch, reminiscent of their final season at White Hart Lane. If the pitch size at Wembley really isn’t an issue, then this is one of their best opportunities to put the hoodoo to bed.
