Tottenham Hotspur will play hosts to Barcelona at the Wembley Stadium on Thursday night hoping to secure their first points in the UEFA Champions League this season. Mauricio Pochettino’s men suffered a narrow 2-1 away defeat against Inter Milan on the opening night last month, so they need to significantly up their game if they want to come away with maximum points from this contest versus the Catalans.
However, Ernesto Valverde’s team won’t be easy to beat as they are desperate for some good results as well following a string of underwhelming performances in the league. We can expect an open, free-flowing game of football with both teams going all out to secure a victory in midweek.
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are going through a mini injury crisis with Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Serge Aurier and Mousa Dembele all set to miss out on the home match against Barca due to injuries. Both Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm are major doubts for the game as well and would be in a race against time to be fit for this European encounter.
Barcelona
The Catalans will be without the services of Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto for this upcoming Champions League clash at the Wembley Stadium. Other than that, Valverde has no fresh injury concerns to deal with in this game.
Predicted Lineups
Tottenham Hotspur
Paulo Gazzaniga; Kieran Trippier, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose; Eric Dier, Harry Winks; Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela, Heung-min Son; Harry Kane
Barcelona
Marc Andre ter Stegen; Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Phillipe Coutinho; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele
Key Men
Tottenham Hotspur
Pochettino will rely on his front players to get the goals on the night. So the performance of Harry Kane and Lucas Moura will once again be integral if Tottenham are to earn a favourable result on Wednesday night.
Barcelona
Lionel Messi has a fantastic goal-scoring record in the Champions League, and he scored a hattrick in his last European outing against PSV Eindhoven. The Argentine superstar would be expected to find the back of the net on Wednesday while the midfield three of Coutinho, Busquets and Rakitic also need to dominate the ball at the centre of the park.
Odds
Tottenham Hotspur win – 29/10
Draw – 29/10
Barcelona win – 19/20
