Tottenham Hotspur have struggled to get going in the UEFA Champions League so far after suffering a narrow 2-1 loss away at Inter Milan last month. Spurs need to up their game before facing off against Barcelona this week as they aim to gain a positive result in front of their home supporters at the Wembley Stadium.
The North London outfit have managed to turn the corner in recent weeks and had won three successive matches across all competitions which would give them a lot of confidence going into this European encounter versus the Catalans. The form of Harry Kane has also improved since that defeat at the San Siro while Heung-min Son has returned from his international commitments with South Korea to add some pace and dynamism to the Tottenham attack.
Here are three ways how Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino can outwit Barcelona and earn all three points on Wednesday night.
Deploy Erik Lamela In The Number 10 Role
Pochettino can look to unleash Erik Lamela in the opposition half in midweek as both Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli are set to miss out on this match. A front four of Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son on the flanks, while Lamela operating as a facilitator in the number 10 position behind Harry Kane would be Spurs’ best chance of getting a favourable result on Wednesday.
Play With Two Holding Midfielders
The Tottenham boss needs to opt for two defensive midfielders if he wants to stop Barcelona from dominating possession in midfield. The combination of Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele might work well against the Barca midfield three of Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Phillipe Coutinho who are all technically gifted players but are not physically imposing.
Start Ben Davies In Place Of Danny Rose
Pochettino’s men are quite effective going forward especially with talented full-backs such as Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose on the attack down the flanks. However, Rose has often struggled to perform his defensive responsibilities as evidenced by the goal that Spurs conceded against Brighton & Hove Albion last month. Hence, opting for someone like Ben Davies, who is more defensively strong might be the way to go if the Tottenham manager wants to stop Barca from exploiting their defensive weaknesses.
