Tottenham have a point to prove after being outfought
IN the weekend’s north London derby, Tottenham proved unable to pounce on an apparently vulnerable opponent who are failing to recapture former glories.
There is nothing here to replicate the rivalry between Spurs and Arsenal, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side arrived in Dortmund to face another struggling team who until recently had asserted their superiority over them.
It is 20 months since Dortmund completed a resounding 5-1 aggregate victory against Tottenham in the Europa League last 16.
Pochettino fielded a weakened lineup in that tie as he prioritised their Premier League title bid but the result still reinforced a view that Spurs were some way from being considered a major force on the European stage.
The progress they have made since has prompted a rethink, reaching a zenith when they took four points from two games against Real Madrid.
Spurs therefore went into their meeting with Arsenal expected to triumph and prove their neighbourhood preeminence, yet they were outfought and outthought by a team they had supposedly overtaken.
Just three days later, they are presented with a similar proposition. Dortmund have a powerful pedigree in this competition, having reached one final and the quarter-finals twice more in the last five seasons, but these days they are, frankly, in a mess.
They lost 2-1 at newly promoted VfB Stuttgart on Friday night, extending their winless Bundesliga run to five matches. That leaves them fifth in the league, and even a win tonight would not be enough in the Champions League if Madrid are also victorious.
The sense of unrest was only heightened by Dortmund’s director of communications fielding questions about chief scout Sven Mislintat, who it was confirmed last night will join Arsenal.
Pochettino and his players have a real opportunity here to address at least a few of the criticisms raised by that defeat at Emirates Stadium.
Victory would guarantee top spot, which even given the travails of both Dortmund and Real Madrid this term amounts to a remarkable achievement, and would afford Pochettino the chance to rest several players for the final Group H game against APOEL Nicosia on December 6.
Yet he is thinking of doing so here as well. “A busy period is coming,” he said. “Of course we are going to make some changes from Saturday’s game.
“I hope not too many [have to] rest because it’s a Champions League game and we want to win. It’s better to win than to wait for the APOEL match. The objec tive was to qu alif y and we achieved that but it’s important to finish first if we can.”
There are some doubts over Harry Kane and Dele Alli’s involvement given both looked well below par — particularly the latter — against Arsenal, but Danny Rose could feature after training here last night, having made the journey despite persistent rumours of a bust-up with Pochettino.
Rose was left out of the derby matchday squad to train with the reserves but could be included this evening.
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