Premier League side Tottenham clash with LaLiga champions Real Madrid on Wednesday knowing that the team who wins this match is guaranteed qualification to the UEFA Champions League first knockout round. The reverse fixture at Santiago Bernabeu ended 1-1 and Tottenham even had the lead for a while before Cristiano Ronaldo scored to make it all square. The previous meeting between the two sides was in the Champions League quarter-finals back in 2011 and Real Madrid pushed through with a 4-0 victory at home and a 1-0 success at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham's Premier League title aspirations suffered a blow last weekend as they lost 1-0 at rivals Manchester United in a rather scrappy game. However, the Champions League could bring some optimism back in Mauricio Pochettino's camp, the Spurs are tied with Real Madrid on 7 points at the top of Group H and victory on Wednesday would guarantee their spot in the final sixteen. Harry Kane missed last weekend's game due to a hamstring problem and is a huge doubt ahead of Wednesday's match, while Erik Lamela and Victor Wanyama are also expected to miss out.
Real Madrid were dealt a serious blow as well last weekend, they succumbed to a shocking 2-1 defeat at Girona and dropped eight points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona. Head coach Zinedine Zidane needs to bounce back as soon as possible and Wednesday's match at Tottenham is the perfect opportunity to claim a reputable result and also to secure qualification to the next round. Jesus Vallejo, Mateo Kovacic, Keylor Navas and Gareth Bale are all injured, while Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane could also miss out.
Probable line-ups:
Tottenham: Lloris - Sanchez, Dier, Alderweireld - Aurier, Eriksen, Winks, Dembele, Vertonghen - Alli - Kane
Real Madrid: Casilla - Hakimi, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo - Kroos, Casemiro, Modric - Isco - Benzema, Ronaldo
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Tottenham win - 3.39
Draw - 3.75
Real Madrid win - 2.14
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Comments (1)
sharpe
11/22/17, 10:11:08 PM
That was maybe the best Spurs performance and result not only for the season but maybe one of the most impressive ones in their history in general. Obviously Real...
That was maybe the best Spurs performance and result not only for the season but maybe one of the most impressive ones in their history in general. Obviously Real are not in good shape so far in the season but still you have to play really well to beat them and Spurs have done that. This result would probably allow them to win the group either which is fantastic but well deserved achievement.
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