Match Preview: Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund in Champions League Round of 16

Beating all odds, Tottenham advanced to the Round of 16 in the Champions League and will now face Borussia Dortmund. Both teams are surging and have potential to win the whole competition, let alone the round.

You don’t get into the Champions League without being among the best in your domestic competition. This is definitely the case with the two clubs facing each other on Wednesday.

Spurs are in the Premier League title race at 3rd, leading 4th place Manchester United by a whopping 9 points. BVB are having a strong Bundesliga season in 1st place.

Form

Over the past 4 matchweeks, no Premier League club has had better form than Tottenham. They have won all of their matches, even in the face of massive injuries.

Spurs’ Champions League campaign this season rose the blood pressure of not a few supporters. They lost their two first games, these being against Inter Milan and Barcelona. They had the potential to win or draw both matches but they just couldn’t last 90 minutes. However, in a drastic turn of events, Tottenham went on to get 8 points out of their remaining 4 matches, beating Inter and drawing Barcelona over that time period.

In their domestic league, BVB have been less potent over the past 4 matchweeks, winning 2 and drawing 2. While they have grown just a bit cold recently, they are still a club to be reckoned with. This was shown in their dominant start to the Champions League season. They won their first 3 matches, including a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid and 3-0 win over Monaco. After that, just like in the Bundesliga, they have coasted a bit. Their record over their past 3 matches is 1-1-1.

Looking at each team’s form, things are looking up for Tottenham. Over the past few weeks, Tottenham has seemed to be the stronger side, both domestically and in Europe.

Players

With Harry Kane and Dele Alli out with injury-and missing this match- Heung-Min Son has set the league on fire. He’s scored 2 more goals than Salah over the past 8 matches each of them has played in, albeit with less fanfare. Son has shown himself to be one of the best forwards in the Premier League and will bring his best versus BVB.

He will be joined by Christian Eriksen, who too is lethal to opposing teams. While Spurs won’t have the best lineup of their season, they have shown that they can get the job done.

BVB shouldn’t be underestimated, though. While their defense isn’t the best in the Bundesliga, their attack is dangerous. Reus, Sancho, and Alcacer are one of the best front threes in Europe. Still, Tottenham have an in-form defense. Alderweireld, Sissoko, Sanchez, and Vertonghen are capable of holding the BVB trio scoreless.

Predictions

Tottenham 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

Let’s not forget, this is just the first leg so neither teams needs to win. Tottenham should hit first, bursting through BVB’s weaker defense. Then both sides will trade goals. The true test will be the second leg, which Tottenham will win.