Tottenham @ Real Madrid lineups and preview

Mauricio Pochettino’s teamsheet for Tottenham’s trip to Real Madrid on Tuesday is a bit more adventurous than expected.

With Tottenham sitting tied with Real Madrid on points so far in Champions League group stage play, Pochettino has a little room to be creative here. For some though, this might be a step too far.

Let’s start with a look at the team’s shape. Prior to this announcement, we assumed that Pochettino would elect to use something similar to the 4-2-3-1 shape that beat Bournemouth over the weekend.

That still might be the case here, but it’s also possible that Spurs are set to return to their usual 3-4-2-1 — but with a twist.

Ben Davies’ absence leaves the left-flank essentially unmanned. On Saturday, that situation forced Jan Vertonghen out wide, where the Belgian did a great job.

Based on this teamsheet, it’s hard to tell if the same thing is happening here. It’s possible that Moussa Sissoko will take over at left wing-back — where he’s never featured before for Spurs — while Serge Aurier occupies the opposite flank.

While an interesting personnel choice, so far there is nothing too revolutionary here. What is, though, is how Pochettino chose to fill out his attack.

Rather than rely on the guile and pace of Heung-min Son, as he did against Borussia Dortmund in Spurs’ 3-1 win, Pochettino has instead opted to field Fernando Llorente alongside Harry Kane in his first Champions League appearance since leaving Juventus in 2016.

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It’s hard to say what the thinking is here. Perhaps Pochettino intends to play through the air more often than not, with the big Spaniard heading down balls for Kane to convert. Perhaps it’s simply a matter of dividing the attention of Real’s defense between Kane and another striker.

There’s not much precedent here for either tactic though. Pochettino tried and failed to fit together Kane and Vincent Janssen early last season. Far from overwhelming the opposition, the pair more often than not got in each other’s way and made each other worse than they were individually.

Christian Eriksen will be involved to help get the ball to one or both players, while Eric Dier and Harry Winks patrol midfield.

Real are dealing with their own set of injuries at present, including one to Spurs alum Gareth Bale. Their depth is impressive enough though that they can still field a world-beating group here — but for one exception.

On Real’s right defensive flank, 18-year-old full-back Achraf Hakimi will start. This is only his second start ever for Real, and Spurs will do whatever they can to target his side of the pitch. Pochettino might regret not naming Son to this lineup even more if Sissoko fails exploit Real’s biggest area of weakness.

Next: Tottenham don't need a miracle against Real Madrid

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