Champions League Preview: Tottenham vs Juventus
Tottenham looked to be as good as out of the Champions League within nine minutes of their first leg against Juventus. That all changed when goals from Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen earned them a 2-2 draw to take back to Wembley.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are as yet unbeaten in the Champions League and took more points than any other team in the group stages. Meanwhile, Max Allegri’s side finished as runners-up to Barcelona in Group D.
The Lilywhites haven’t tasted defeat in any competition since December 16, when they lost 4-1 away to Manchester City. At home, they have lost just twice all season, once to Chelsea in the Premier League and once to West Ham in the Carabao Cup.
However, there is no overstating the magnitude of the challenge ahead of them. Juventus reached the final in 2017, where they could not overcome a dominant Real Madrid, and they remain among the favourites for this year’s trophy.
The accepted wisdom, supposedly, is that the Bianconeri simply don’t concede goals. They have won their last three matches in all competitions 1-0, and Allegri stoked the fires of Wednesday’s game by claiming he did not expect the north Londoners to defend as well as Lazio had done in Saturday’s game.
Spurs’ attack will be buoyed by Gianluigi Buffon’s error in the 1-0 win against Atalanta last week, when the veteran stopper came rushing out into his own half. In that instance, Alejandro Gomes could only hit the post, but it will only fuel Tottenham’s belief that this Juventus outfit isn’t impenetrable after all.
Team News
Gonzalo Higuain, who scored a brace in the first leg but also missed a penalty, is a doubt for the trip to London having missed out again versus Lazio. The Argentine may travel but is not a guaranteed starter.
It’s likely Spurs will have to cope with the added threat of his compatriot, though, with Paulo Dybala expected to play. Federico Bernardeschi is still out.
Following his hapless display in the Juventus Stadium, Serge Aurier is suspended for picking up too many yellow cards, further depleting a defence already missing Toby Alderweireld. Pochettino has confirmed the centre-back is still not ready to return from a hamstring injury. Vertonghen is fit again and completed 90 minutes in the weekend’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield.
Erik Lamela started the first leg, but Heung Min-Son scoring four goals in his last two games will surely have given the Spurs bench some food for thought.
Expected line-ups
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane
Juventus: Buffon, De Sciglio, Benatia, Chiellini, Sandro, Khedira, Pjanic, Marchisio, Costa, Mandzukic, Dybala
Did you know?
When it comes to goals scored in the tournament this season, Spurs rather put Juventus to shame, with 17 to the Serie A outfit’s nine. Their reliance on narrow victories could be a problem for the visitors as even a 1-1 draw would not see them go through.
Prediction:
Against Borussia Dortmund in September, Spurs showed they can play with maturity when necessary. Two away goals make them narrow favourites with most bookmakers, though that’s taking nothing away from their achievement if they do manage to overcome the Italian champions.
Kane is the competition’s second-highest scorer after Cristiano Ronaldo and Tottenham will know they can’t rely on Juventus not scoring, so even though they have the away goals, they still have to go on the front foot. Tottenham 1-1 Juventus
