Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Tottenham will look to put the misery of Saturday lunchtime behind them as their focus shifts from domestic to continental matters this evening, with qualification to the Round of 16 already secured there are question marks as to just how much of a priority this fixture will be for Mauricio Pochettino.
With just a win required from the last two Champions League matches and the final one coming at home to Cypriot outfit APOEL Nicosia then Pochettino may well feel that more eggs need to put into the West Brom basket at the weekend.
And with that in mind it could well be a case that we see a much changed Tottenham side this evening to the one that was second best against Arsenal just three days ago. It was clear to see that Harry Kane was not fully fit and it would make sense for the England international to be rested for tonight’s visit to Dortmund.
After Tottenham’s performances in the first four match days of this competition they have earned the right to chop and change where necessary and although you could argue that the club should perhaps try and get the job done later tonight in terms of topping the group you do perhaps have to look at the bigger picture.
That picture being that the games are coming thick and fast with West Brom and then Leicester away in the Premier League this week and with Tottenham’s squad already resembling that of the walking wounded then this may well present the perfect opportunity in which to utilise the squad depth but the North London outfit have.
If that is to be the case expect to see the likes of Hueng min-Son and Fernando Llorente spearhead the attack this evening, in the case of the latter it will be the ideal chance in which to get the additional minutes required to get him closer to full match sharpness.
And that is exactly what Danny Rose could be in line for this evening, the left back was not a part of the squad at the weekend in the defeat to Arsenal and it did cause something of a furore before hand in the media as many were looking to find some sensationalist angle to it.
It seems as if it was nothing more than the lack of fitness that Rose has shown that was the reason, whether his long term future is at the club remains to be seen but he will be in the squad tonight and you get the feeling that he will be given game time to increase his fitness this evening.
Hosts Borussia Dortmund are in something of a state of flux at the moment, after topping the Bundesliga early on they now find themselves 5th in the table and nine points behind perennial leaders Bayern Munich. Their plight was not helped by a 2-1 defeat to Stuttgart on Friday.
Not only that but they also have Gabon’s forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suspended for internal disciplinary reasons at present so it is fair to say that all is not well with the German outfit and Tottenham should make the trip to Signal Iduna Park with nothing to fear.
EDIT: He is now available once again
Borussia Dortmund now need to make sure they get the necessary points to at least assure themselves a place in the Europa League in the new year, a competition they arguably did not envisage playing in this season and with Real Madrid away in Matchday 6 this may well be the only chance they have of getting those points on the board.
The fact that Tottenham may have one eye on the weekend will play in Dortmund’s favour and they will look to take full advantage of this, Spurs could go on and land the knockout blow required to secure top spot tonight but I have a feeling that Dortmund will have the stronger lineup and go onto earn all three points. A narrow home win for me.
Here is what social media thinks will happen – you can still vote on the outcome
Time for some Champions League scientific polls now
Who will come out on top as #Dortmund take on #Tottenham
— Dan Tracey (@dantracey1983) November 21, 2017
