The Europa League Round of 16 draw has thrown up a fire cracker of a match between two exciting teams in Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur. The two clubs will go head to head for the first time ever in a competition at the Signal Iduna Park on Thursday.
It will be an encounter between two high flying sides as Spurs travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund. There are no significant injury worries for either side ahead of the match, and two of the most underrated managers in Europe — Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino — will have the chance to go at each other for the first time.
Both the teams head into the match in similar situations domestically– second in the league table and having drawn against their bitter rivals ahead of the game.
Lineups
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund will probably go into the match with a similar lineup to the one that started against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. They had an impressive showing in Der Klassiker and have had enough rest to be fit and ready to welcome Spurs to their home turf.
Probable Starting XI:- Burki, Piszczek , Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer, Weigl, Gundogan, Kagawa, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Reus.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs go into the match without their talisman Dele Alli, who is suspended. In lieu of their full-back rotation policy, Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies will get a look in instead of Kyle Walker and Danny Rose. Heung-Min Son will start on the right and Christian Eriksen will take up the number 10 role in place of Alli.
Probable Starting XI:- Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies; Dier, Mason; Son, Eriksen, Lamela; Kane.
Stats
- The two teams have never faced each other in a competitive football match.
- Dortmund and Tottenham faced each other in two friendly games in 1950 and 1951.
- After those two ties, they met again recently in 2006 and 2008 for friendly games in Germany and Netherlands.
- Both teams are currently in second position in their domestic league tables.
- In the last round, BVB beat Porto 3-0 on aggregate and Spurs beat Fiorentina 4-1.
Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
While Der Schwarzgelben do boast of the home ground advantage and some of the most vocal and expressive fans in the world, the current Tottenham side are a very difficult prospect. Mauricio Pochettino’s men are like a well oiled machine both in attack and especially in defence.
Thomas Tuchel can boast of a similarly impressive team though. A draw is the likeliest result in this match up, with both team gauging the other’s capabilities and being careful not to give anything up.
Odds
Borussia Dortmund – 11/20
Draw – 33/10
Tottenham Hotspur – 21/4
(via: BetVictor)