Borussia Dortmund vs Tottenham Hotspur: Opposition Analysis

Borussia Dortmund return to UEFA Champions League action this week as they take on English side Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.

Having blown a three goal lead against Hoffenheim on Saturday, Borussia Dortmund will be determined to get back to winning ways in their Champions against Tottenham Hotspur. But beating Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be anything but straight forward for the Black and Yellows. Tottenham are currently third in the Premier League table and have won their last three games in all competitions. Even though they will be without key duo Harry Kane and Dele Alli on Wednesday, Spurs have still have a lot of quality in their squad, which could cause plenty of problems to Borussia Dortmund.

Ahead of the highly awaited clash, we had a chat with Spurs for Life writer Declan Wiseman to get a lowdown on what Dortmund can expect at Wembley Stadium.

Form and Past Meetings

In terms of domestic league position, Dortmund are flying high at the top of the Bundesliga. Their nearest rivals Bayern are separated by five points. Tottenham, meanwhile, sit third in the Premier League and are in the title race, but only just.

Dortmund have scored three goals away from home in the competition thus far. They will travel to Wembley, where Spurs have conceded five in the competitions, including Barcelona’s 4-2 footballing lesson in the group stage.

Tottenham barely scraped into the round of 16 after failing to win their first three games in the group stage. But they followed that up with two wins and a draw over Barcelona to squeeze through and earn a tie against Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund has the greater Champions League experience, with four round of 16 ties, their most recent in 2016/2017, defeating Benfica 4-1. Last year, they had a shocker of a campaign though, winning only two points in Group H. Meanwhile, Spurs won the same group, with a 3-1 home win and a 2-1 away win against Dortmund. In both matches, Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane grabbed the goals. The only other time the clubs have met is during the Europa League in 2015/6 where Dortmund won in both round of 16 encounters.

Personnel and Injury News

Tottenham have been severely struck down with injury, with star players Harry Kane and Dele Alli set to miss the first leg at the very least. Son has returned from the Asia Cup in time though, and is firing on all cylinders. He will lead the attack.

This is the big weakness that Dortmund may exploit. Whereas before Kane, Dele, Son would start together, there is now a complete disruption to this attacking three. In their stead are the likes of Fernando Llorente, Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela. These are hardly second-class talents, but there is less understanding and chemistry between them on all on the pitch. The Spurs defence is the least injury hit and will remain strong, the midfield is largely intact, but the attacking edge of the team is really blunted. Thus, if Dortmund can go all-out attack, they will most likely be able to outscore their opposition.

Expected Tottenham XI: Lloris – Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen – Sissoko, Winks – Lamela, Eriksen, Son – Lucas Moura

Key Players

Harry Winks has really started to impress after his struggles with an ankle injury. He is the one to watch for this match; a dynamic midfielder, linking up the defence with the attack. There is not a harder working player on the Spurs team. This is a player who will make lung-busting run after run, more than happy to bomb forward late into the box after winning a tackle just moments ago in his own half. He has a decent passing range and is good at carrying the ball forward. The midfield battler is sometimes a little messy in his playing style, but he’ll be the dynamo at the heart of Spurs’ team on the night.

Heung-min Son will also be crucial, having netted 14 goals in all competitions this season. The former Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen man has also scored in each of his last three appearances, so Dortmund will have to be wary of his threat.

Verdict

European football can often throw out any domestic form or league table standings that might suggest Dortmund have the upper hand. However, Spurs will be without their record goal scorer Harry Kane, as well as Dele Alli for this first leg. While Dortmund will be without captain Marco Reus and star defender Manuel Akanji. Nevertheless, Tottenham will have to rely on their back-up attacking talents to come up with the goods on the night. At Wembley, Dortmund can take confidence against this reconstructed attacking front to take the advantage in this first leg of this round of 16 tie.