We are into the final stretch of matches in the Champions League league stage, and Borussia Dortmund are right in the running for a spot in the coveted top eight clubs that earn automatic spots in the Round
of 16. The team in 11th is tied with them on points, and it just so happens to be their opponent tomorrow—Tottenham Hotspur.
I was very excited to grab the preview for tomorrow’s match, mostly because it gives me the chance to whine about Tottenham. Those of you who have followed this site for a while will know that Spurs are my second favorite team in Europe, so I am deeply familiar with (and frequently exasperated by) the club’s ongoing struggles.
To put it bluntly, Tottenham’s season under Thomas Frank’s has been a disaster. He doesn’t exactly have a great squad to work with, but even so the results have been disappointing, highlighted by their abysmal 2-3-6 home record. The offense, led by a rotating cast of underperformers including Richarlison, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, and more, is struggling. They’ve been a vital source of points for clubs struggling in the Premier League including Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, and most recently, West Ham. Many fans expected Frank to be fired after their stoppage time defeat against West Ham on Saturday, but it appears that he’s still got the job for now. If Dortmund hand the Lilywhites yet another defeat at home, it might be enough to get Frank fired.
Player to Watch: Micky Van de Ven
Tottenham’s squad is mostly comprised of talentless bums who have no business playing in the Champions League, but there’s one player who’s legitimately world class, and that’s Dutch center-back Micky Van de Ven. He’s one of my favorite players to watch. His speed is simply unbelievable. He’s set the premier league record, which was higher than Karim Adeyemi’s career top speed. The amount of space he can make up in a fraction of a second is something to behold. It will be incredibly hard for even Dortmund’s quickest forwards to get in behind him. He also has a tendency to use that pace to bomb forward with the ball and create chances, like this insane goal he created against Manchester United last season. While Tottenham don’t have many potent offensive threats, his defensive explosiveness and aggressiveness going forward definitely make him one to watch out for.
Predicted Lineup
According to Ruhr Nachrichten, both Aaron Anselmino and Ramy Bensebaini are returning from injuries and are likely to make the squad, while Jobe Bellingham is likely to return to the squad. Marcel Sabitzer is still out with a calf injury. Meanwhile, because Fabio Silva got the start against St. Pauli, it seems likely that Serhou Guirassy will be back in the lineup against Spurs.
Score Prediction
While Tottenham randomly winning a game at home against one of the top teams in Germany seems like the top of unexplainable nonsense that might as well happen, I don’t see it. Neither side scores a lot of goals so I won’t predict a lot of offense, but I’ll guess a 2-0 Dortmund victory.
