Tottenham Hotspur are plagued with a series of injuries, and Dele Alli’s suspension, as they host Borussia Dortmund tonight.
Tottenham are without Dele Alli, who was sent off in their final Europa League match last season. The injured Victor Wanyama, Danny Rose, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Erik Lamela also miss out, but Mousa Dembele is expected to be available.
Victor Wanyama will have to sit this one out with a knee injury but Dembele could return to the starting line-up against Dortmund after missing out the match against Everton. Besides the usual suspects, Spurs have no fresh injury concerns. Serge Aurier could be expected to debut for the club to inject more speed on the flanks.
Ben Davies will remain in an almost full-strength starting eleven in an attempt to make up for the absence of Danny Rose. However, the club will definitely miss the services of their playmaker Dele Alli, which could possibly affect their game on some level.
Davinson Sanchez is expected to keep his place in the back three from Saturday’s demolition of Everton. The manager did not try his 3-4-2-1 formation in the Champions League last season, which could prove to be a new weapon.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged the importance of his side’s opening clash but also added that he did not see it as a scrap for second spot. The Argentine urged Spurs to make a confident opening to the campaign after failing to progress to the knockout stages in last season’s tournament.
“I think Wednesday is so important, to start well in the competition and get the three points will be key to the future,” Pochettino said at his pre-match media conference. “In theory it should be Real Madrid first and the others trying for second, but football is not about theory. Our ambition is to win every game.”
Pochettino feels Spurs must take up the challenge of rising to the level of Europe’s top clubs after finishing second in the Premier League last season and third in 2015-16. “Now we need experience,” he said of their attempt to match the likes of Madrid.