Champions League: Spurs Must Dare to Dream in Barcelona

Champions League: Spurs Must Dare to Dream in Barcelona

Barcelona vs Tottenham Hotspur

Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs has looked out of the 2018/19 Champions League for most of the campaign but somehow is still in it.

A last-gasp win against Inter has kept Spurs hopes alive, and a win in Barcelona could see them through to the last 16 against all odds. Spurs need to match Inter Milan’s result, against PSV Eindhoven, to guarantee a passage through to the last 16; and that more than likely means beating the La Liga champions in their own backyard.

The Champions League 2018 betting markets have Ernesto Valverde’s team in amongst the favourites to win the trophy, while Spurs are understandably outsiders. But as all SBOBET football fans know; you can only write off the underdogs at your own peril. After all, in this case, Spurs are fighting for their European lives while Barcelona has already won Group B, six points clear on 13 while their visitors and Inter are tied on seven.

With Inter hosting PSV, another side with nothing to play for and with only one point from five games, Spurs must dare to dream.

There will be a carnival atmosphere at the Camp Nou and we might just see one of the Champions League 2018 results of the round.

Talking Points

Barca is firing on all cylinders

If Spurs is to win and progress, then they have to overcome one of Europe’s form sides as Barcelona aims for another win at the Camp Nou. In a one-sided Catalonia Derby, Leo Messi was on target twice as Barca blew Espanyol away 0-4 to stay at the top of La Liga.

Winning four of the last six league games, Barca’s big guns have been in great form. Messi heads up the La Liga top scorers list with 11 and Luis Suarez is just behind with ten. They work well together with eight and four assists respectively and have more than a capable back-up in the form of Ousmane Dembele. The former BVB player and France international has six goals of his own, alongside three assists.

Whoever makes the start up front for Barca will surely stretch the Spurs defence to its limits. This is not the tie Pochettino would ask for at this moment, but if you are going to play in a tournament with serious intent, you have to be prepared to beat whatever comes your way.

Pochettino’s Espanyol loyalties

Make no mistake, a win for Spurs would be oh so sweet for their head coach. Mauricio Pochettino was a former player and manager at Barca’s city rivals, and he would love nothing more to avenge his old team’s 0-4 thumping with a shock win on Tuesday. And he’s used to being the underdog in this Stadium with the capability of springing a surprise.

He earned his first Derby win as a manager at the Camp Nou back in 2009 when Espanyol was bottom of La Liga and Barcelona was top. His team was given no chance, certainly bigger outsiders than his current crop at Spurs are. Poch will draw on that memory and his loyalty to Espanyol when his players cross the white line on Tuesday night.

Pochettino knows he must get his defence set up to frustrate Barca’s stars and he will probably go for the tried and tested centre-back pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. They came together to shut out Leicester City in a 0-2 win on Saturday and if they can keep the Catalans quiet then maybe, just maybe, his strikers can get the goals they desperately need to win.

History

Messi scored twice in Barcelona’s 2-4 win at the Wembley Stadium in October which gave Spurs an uphill battle in Group B, and he’s the Catalan’s top scorer with six goals in the competition. The Lillywhites’ main man Harry Kane has four of his own, while the excellent Christian Eriksen has weighed in with two, including the dramatic late winner against Inter which put Spurs’ destiny in its own hands.

But the visitors have to break a Barca sequence of five games unbeaten and a winning streak of four matches in which Messi and Co have scored 12 goals and conceded just two.

Spurs have recovered from a 4-2 North London Derby defeat with back to back wins over Southampton and Leicester City, which have lifted them to third in the Premier League table.

Betting Tip

Barcelona 1X2 @ 2.10

Unfortunately, for Spurs, I think a dream is all they will have by Wednesday morning. They were simply blown away by Arsenal a couple of weeks ago and this Barca side is more frightening than Unai Emery’s improving Gunners.

Spurs is at 3.15 and while the draw is 3.55, a win is what the visitors need.

Seven of the ten Champions League games played by these two teams have yielded over 2.50 goals and Spurs must go for it. So for an alternative, 4-6 goals at odds of 2.45 could pay dividends.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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