The big trials keep coming for Mauricio and his men. How well can Spurs do when they welcome Barcelona to Wembley?
The North London side would have been on a massive high heading into this game. Regrettably, the boys in white were unable to hold down a lead and let the entire game slip out of their hands. Spurs fell victim to the curse of the 2018/2019 campaign.
Since the season has commenced – in a number of games where teams were holding healthy leads, have gone on to lose the fixture altogether. During the early encounter and afore, Tottenham were being accused of showing fatigue.
https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1047161790151442432
In this match… They can be no room for error, or any lapse in concentration. If it’s one side who can punish a team who’s struggling, it’s Barcelona. They have the firepower to launch a new world war. Thankfully, they just not that into politics. Spurs drop in points has made this challenge even harder than what it could have been.
The pressure is on to get a result, and they certainly can. They were the only teams to beat Real Madrid in the group stages of the Champions League last season. They could build the same case here.
BREAKING: @SpursOfficial Dele Alli, Serge Aurier, Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen ruled out of games against @FCBarcelona and @CardiffCityFC #SSN
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 2, 2018
How have they been so far for the season?
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Talking things Champions League, Tottenham’s visitors sit on top of Group B, after winning their first fixture against last place, PSV Eindhoven. Spurs spar day took them to San Siro, where they lost to what could be a competitor for goal of the season by Icardi.
Spurs season in numbers; W5; D0; L2
The North London side has had a bit of an inconsistent start to life in the Premier League, but sit in 4th place, joint on 15 points with North London rivals, Arsenal. When coming up against opposition of Barca’s quality, Spurs have won one and lost one.
This will give them enough confidence heading into the match, knowing they can take all the points – if they play the perfect game, that is. Their best team must play and show up for the fixture. Unfortunately, this will be hard to come by after the big injury list produced by Spurs yesterday.
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 3, 2018
Visit https://t.co/Nl3XKga7Su for all the odds pic.twitter.com/RDbkaj6ca8
Their opponents
Barcelona have been far from perfect and were too struggling before hand at closing games down or winning them. They sit on top of the Spanish La Liga table, but only by goal difference above rivals, Real Madrid.
Barcelona’s season in numbers; W4; D2; L1
What's the secret to beating Barcelona?
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 3, 2018
⏱️ 🗣️ Mauricio discusses our approach to tonight's @ChampionsLeague clash at Wembley. #COYS pic.twitter.com/MM5qpaz1Xb
The Camp Nou side has only managed one victory from the last three fixtures in their La Liga run. This puts them in the same bracket as Spurs, when considering their form. Their first UCL fixture saw them hammer PSV four goals without any replies. But we all know Spurs and PSV are no comparison to each other.
Match score prediction
Tottenham 2-3 Barcelona