The second legs of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 begin
this week and on Tuesday 5th March we have a huge game between Borussia
Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur at Signal Iduna Park.
Tottenham Hotspur know they have the tie in their grasp and can
even afford a loss by 2 goals and still progress to the quarter-final.
Borussia Dortmund suffered a setback in their pursuit of the
Bundesliga title on the weekend as they went down 2-1 at Augsburg on Friday
night. The match was moved forward to give them time to prepare for this
game but it did little in the way of boosting confidence.
That result means Borussia Dortmund have won one of their last
seven games and they have hit their worst run of form this season at the wrong
time.
Trends show they are undefeated at home in the Champions league this season having
played three group games, winning two and drawing one. The good news for
Borussia Dortmund fans is they are yet to concede a goal at home the
competition this season and it will have to stay that way if they are to
qualify.
Tottenham Hotspur also dropped points in their domestic league on
the weekend and they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by north London rivals
Arsenal. It could have been worse for Spurs but Hugo Lloris saved a
late penalty which preserved a point for his team.
Spurs join their hosts in not being in good form ahead of this
match and they have lost two and drawn one of their last three games. The
defeats came at Burnley and Chelsea in the Premier League.
However, Spurs are unbeaten in their last five Champions League
games, winning three of them including the victory over Borussia Dortmund in
the first leg at Wembley. Nonetheless, away form is not great and trends
show Spurs have failed to win any of their last four away Champions league matches.
There has been one defeat in those four games, which came at Inter
Milan earlier this season and three draws at Juventus, PSV, and Barcelona.
Looking ahead to the team news and Borussia Dortmund have doubts
over Christian Pulisic, Marcel Schmelzer and Lukasz Piszczek.
Tottenham Hotspur could be without Harry Winks who missed the game
on the weekend with a hip injury. Eric Dier will hope to overcome illness
in time to play but Dele Alli will definitely miss out thanks to a hamstring
injury.
Borussia Dortmund have what it takes to win this game, especially given
the form of Tottenham Hotspur. However, a 3 goal deficit is going
to be tough to reverse and the away team should progress, even in defeat on the Source
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