Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund – Starting Line Ups, Preview And Prediction

Tottenham have been highly impressive this season in the national league, but unfortunately for them their good run came to an end last week in the Europa League when they were thrashed 3-0 by Borussia Dortmund at Signul Iduna Park. Although they have a near impossible task of overturning a 3-nil deficit, one can be pretty sure that Mauricio Pochettino’s side will give their all, like they have done all season. Similarly Dortmund have been very impressive under their new manager Thomas Tuchel, having only lost 5 of their 41 games this season. They currently sit 2^nd in the league table behind Bayern Munich, just like Spurs who are currently behind league leaders Leicester City in the second spot.

Tottenham have magnificently transformed themselves into title contenders this season under the watch of Pochettino, who has received a lot of praise for bringing out the best from his talented team. However the manager faced some criticism for his team selection in the reverse fixture, where he decided to rest many of the star players and was duly punished for it. The squad is starting to show signs of fatigue, having already played 52 matches in all competition this season. Last Sunday’s demolition of Aston Villa has lifted the mood at White Hart Lane a bit and proved to be a perfect response after the drubbing they faced in Germany.

In the first leg, it was the deadly duo of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus, who got on the scoresheet, with the German scoring a double to ensure his side had a huge advantage going into the second leg at White Hart Lane. Before Tuchel took charge, Jurgen Klopp’s team found themselves in the relegation zone for much of the season, before they rallied together and finished at a respectable 6^th spot. The current manager has done a superb job this season, in fact Dortmund haven’t lost since December 19^th having won 11 and drawn 2. The German outfit head into this match on the back of a 2-0 victory over Mainz in the Bundesliga.

Pochettino has made it clear that he will be going for a victory on Thursday, therefore one might see Harry Kane returning to the starting eleven as well as Dele Alli, who missed the first leg through suspension. Christian Eriksen is a contender to be rested with Heung-min Son and Erik Lamela both pushing for starts. Thomas Tuchel will be reluctant to make changes to a winning team, however Sven Bender could overcome a muscle injury to start in defence alongside Mats Hummels.

Predicted Starting Line Ups:

Predicted Tottenham XI: Lloris; Trippier, Wimmer, Alderweireld, Davies; Dier, Dembele; Son, Alli, Lamela and Kane

Predicted Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Bender, Hummels, Schmelzer; Weigl; Durm, Castro, Mkhitaryan, Reus and Aubameyang

Predicted scoreline: 2-1