Big Match Breakdown: Tottenham v Real Madrid
Published:
Group H rivals face-off at Wembley
Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid will both be looking to recover from weekend defeats when they clash at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday night.
The two clubs both suffered losses on the road to scupper their respective title bids.
While Spurs were narrowly beaten at Manchester United, Real suffered a surprise reverse away at Girona, who picked up only their third victory of the season.
Both sides will be looking to get back on track as they renew rivalries in North London in a hotly anticipated Champions League clash.
The Coral News Team give you the big match breakdown ahead of a game that could see one of the teams go through to the knockout stages with a win…
Head-to-Head
Real Madrid may be unbeaten against Spurs in five matches, but the Lilywhites gave Los Blancos an almighty scare at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago.
A Raphael Varane own goal gave the visitors the lead in that one before Cristiano Ronaldo equalised from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time. Both teams had chances to win the game, although it was Mauricio Pochettino’s side who went away happiest with the point.
Prior to that, Spurs lost both meetings in the 2010-2011 UCL quarter-final, going down 4-0 in the away leg and 1-0 at White Hart Lane.
Interestingly, this game also marks Real’s first ever trip to Wembley Stadium, despite the European Cup and Champions League finals being held at the stadium on seven occasions.
The Likely XIs
Harry Kane missed Tottenham’s defeat to Manchester United on Saturday but could return to the starting line-up against Real. The striker has trained ahead of the match and will replace Heung min-Son up-front if fit.
One player who should return is Dele Alli. The midfielder is back available after serving a three-match ban in the Champions League. He should slot in behind Kane as Spurs revert to a 3-5-1-1 formation.
Elsewhere, Jan Vertonghen could shift to left-wing-back to allow Davinson Sanchez in at the heart of the defence alongside Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld. Mousa Dembele is set to replace Moussa Sissoko in midfield.
For Real Madrid, Gareth Bale will miss out against his former club, while Keylor Navas is still unavailable. Nacho should replace Varane at centre-half after the defender picked up a muscle injury in the weekend defeat to Girona. Los Blancos are expected to line-up in a 4-3-1-2 formation.
Key Battles
The midfield battle between Harry Winks and Luka Modric dominated the fixture a fortnight ago, and it’ll be intriguing to see how the pair shape up once again here. Winks was mightily impressive at the Bernabeu and his composure on the ball will be key once more when Spurs have possession on Wednesday.
Pochettino’s men are expected to play on the break against Real, which will once again place an emphasis on the defensive performance. Not only that, but Spurs will need to remain disciplined in midfield if they’re to contain a dangerous four including Isco and Casimero.
If the hosts can manage that, they stand a good chance of picking up another three points in Group H.
Match Odds
Real Madrid will be eager to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat and are the slight favourites at 6/5. Spurs are a tempting 2/1 shot to make it two wins from two in the Champions League at Wembley, while the draw is 27/10.
In terms of goalscorers, Kane and Ronaldo are the obvious go-to-guys. Kane is 21/20 to net anytime, with Ronaldo a 3/4 chance for a goal at any point during the match. At slightly longer-odds, Christian Eriksen appeals at 14/5 to add to his tally of six strikes for club and country already this season.
Although the Coral News Team are expecting both teams to score at 4/9, the game also looks set up to be a tight contest. The first meeting finished 1-1 and it’s 16/5 for the match to end in a draw and for both teams to score once more.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
