Buoyant Tottenham face Barca in make-or-break tie
LONDON: Tottenham are sitting pretty in the Premier League but face a potentially season-defining match against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are currently third behind Liverpool and Manchester City. That they have managed that despite playing in their temporary home of Wembley and after a World Cup in which so many of their players featured until the final weekend, makes their achievement all the more impressive.
However, with City and Liverpool in such rampant form, few expect Spurs to win the Premier League, putting increased emphasis on their match against the Spanish league leaders.
Pochettino must somehow find a way past Lionel Messi’s Barcelona to reach the knockout stages but he remains positive ahead of the daunting trip to the Camp Nou to face the five-time European champions.
“It will be a massive game. They have qualified for the next stage but in the Champions League no one is going to give a present,” said the Argentine, who left Harry Kane out of the starting line-up for the 2-0 win away to Leicester on Saturday.
“We need to win and deserve to win. The mentality is going to be 200 percent to try to win. We are going to arrive in the best condition, Barcelona are one of the best teams in Europe.”
Spurs took just one point from their first three games in Group B, losing to Inter Milan and Barcelona and drawing with PSV.
But they beat PSV at home and then scored late through Christian Eriksen to beat Inter 1-0 at Wembley, leaving them in second place on seven points, the same as the Italians.
With Barcelona guaranteed to top the group, Spurs must match Inter’s result to guarantee progress. Pochettino has in the past talked about how only the Premier League or Champions League title will take the club to the “next level”, even though the trophy cabinet has been empty since 2008.
Spurs have played in the Champions League for the past three seasons but they cannot boast the pedigree or history of Manchester United or Liverpool in Europe’s top club competition.