Tottenham Hotspur vs Crvena Zvezda 23/10/19

23 October 2019

Tottenham Hotspur face a must-win UEFA Champions League (CL) match against Crvena Zvezda at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Having picked up a single point from their opening two Group B fixtures, the hosts desperately need a victory here. Spurs have blown a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Olympiacos in their group opener before suffering a humiliating 7-2 home loss to Bayern Munich last time out. As a consequence, they have now lost four of their last six CL matches, home and away (W1, D1, L4). The under-pressure boss Mauricio Pochettino has to shore up his team’s defensive woes if he is looking to get his side back on track. The London giants have conceded at least one goal in all but two of their 12 outings in all competitions this season, allowing over 1.5 match goals six times in the process. Tottenham’s recent home record in Europe’s top-tier competition can encourage the home fans, as Spurs have pulled off eight wins in their last 12 CL such matches (L4).

On the other hand, a 3-1 comeback triumph over Olympiacos at home on Matchday 2 has been the visitors’ response to a 3-0 demolition to Bayern Munich in the curtain-raiser. Still, the reigning Serbian champions have lost all four of their CL away fixtures under the current format (since 2003/04), conceding at least three goals in each of those failures while scoring barely two in total. Coming in as big underdogs, the Red-Whites can’t rely much on their away record against the Premier League sides (W1, D4, L5). The one thing that can boost Vladan Milojevic’s confidence is Crvena Zvezda’s six-game winning streak in all competitions ahead of this trip. Interestingly, three of those triumphs have come away from home, with four ending with the identical 3-1 scoreline.