Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund 14/02/19

14 February 2019

Weakened by the absences of Dele Alli and Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur take on the Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie.

Having racked up a three-game winning run in the Premier League ahead of this meeting, the Spurs hope to stretch a positive record against the German teams (W7, D2, L4). Just four of Tottenham’s 38 meetings across all competitions this season have ended without a winner, with Maurizio Pochettino’s men picking up 25 wins in the process. Especially inspired at home, the Premier League giants have secured ten wins in their last 12 competitive home outings (W10, D2), restricting their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match 11 times during the run. However, Pochettino has to take care of his struggling attack that has scored under 1.5 goals per match in three of their previous five home games in all competitions if looking to advance to the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, this encounter couldn’t have come at the worse time for the visitors, who have failed to clinch a victory in their last three competitive clashes (D2, L1). But, although they were held to a draw on their last road trip, the Black and Yellows still boast an impressive away record (W11, D3, L2) this season. Deprived of the services of Marco Reus, the BVB’s attack that has scored 2+ match goals in eight of 16 road clashes could experience massive problems here. What’s more, Lucien Favre should also be concerned about the fact his men have failed to keep a clean sheet on six of their last eight competitive road meetings, allowing over 1.5 goals per match three times in the process.