Tottenham v Borussia Dortmund lineups and preview

Mauricio Pochettino has matched many fans expectations by naming the strongest squad available to him for Wednesday’s opening Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund.

The squad might be a statement of intent for Tottenham. In previous seasons the club hasn’t always taken European play as seriously as it takes the Premier League.

Pochettino is without a few key names due to injury in suspension. Danny Rose continues to recover from a knee injury that has kept him out since January, while Érik Lamela is due back in training sometime next month.

Dele Alli’s red card in the second leg of the Europa League Round of 32 against Gent will keep him out of this fixture, as well as upcoming meetings with Real Madrid and APOEL.

Tottenham appear to be lining up in a similar formation to the one they used against Everton on Saturday. It will be a fairly clear-cut 3-4-2-1, with new signing Davinson Sánchez anchoring the backline as Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen play in the wider centre-back roles.

Serge Aurier earns his debut for the club after completing a deal from Paris Saint Germain on deadline day. He will play on the right flank opposite Ben Davies, who has looked excellent so far this season.

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In the middle Pochettino will welcome the return of a well-rested Mousa Dembélé, who will keep the motor humming as Eric Dier helps break up Dortmund’s attempts at counter-attacks beside him.

With Dele out, Pochettino turns to another player rested on Saturday, Heung-min Son. The South Korean represents a more direct player than Dele, and will likely thrive in wider areas as he attempts to play in Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen through the middle.

Dortmund, meanwhile, are beset with injuries of their own, but are still able to name a fairly strong squad.

Captain Marcel Schmelzer and former Barcelona man Marc Bartra both miss out, but they will be replaced by two new faces at the club: Jeremy Toljan at left-back and Ömer Toprak at centre-back.

Ahead of the defense, Dortmund appear set to try to crowd the middle of the park. Coach Peter Bosz has named Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and new boy Mahmoud Dahoud to the center midfield positions.

That trio will split their time between cutting off Tottenham’s avenues through the middle while also setting up the attackers in front of them. Young American forward Christian Pulisic will join newcomer Andriy Yarmolenko in flanking Pierre-Emerick Aubameyeng through the middle.

Next: Tottenham looks to narrow gap between Champions League rivals

It’s that trio that Spurs stand to fear the most, so expect the backline to not play quick so adventurously high up the pitch as they did against Everton.

Check back here after the game for a full match report, the Man of the Match and a player ratings.