Could Spurs turn it around again?
A familiar position to which Tottenham Hotspur found themselves in going into the 2018/19 Champions League semi-final stage and a famous trip to the Amsterdam Arena. Lucas Moura’s sensational hattrick and dramatic last-minute winner saw Mauricio Pochettino’s men win 3-2 on the night and the tie on away goals with an aggregate score of 3-3. On Tuesday evening Jose Mourinho’s Spurs will travel to Germany the same deficit behind, coming up against forward thinking young gaffer Julian Nagelsmann’s third-placed RB Leipzig. A calmly dispatched Timo Werner penalty separated the two in the first leg and paves the way for this perfectly poised tie to be an entertaining spectacle.
Domestic form
The sides’ fortunes have been in stark contrast since the first leg at the Tottenham Hotpsur Stadium. Leipzig have picked up five points from three Bundesliga fixtures, a resounding 5-0 win away to Schalke before draws with in form Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, they are now five points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. Such gap that would indicate that the Champions League is the most important competition in their calendar at the time of writing.
Mourinho’s good work and results have hit a significant bump in the road lately. Winless in their last five and they have only picked up one point from three games since the Leipzig loss, not mentioning being knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties by Premier League rock bottom side Norwich City. Spurs were defeated by Chelsea and Wolves by a one goal margin before a Dele Alli spot kick saw them rescue a point from Turf Moor on Saturday evening.
One to watch
The spotlight will be on Lucas Moura, as one of Tottenham’s more experienced attackers in the absence of Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane. To see if he can go anyway to recreating that magical hattrick (all with his weaker left foot) and drag the eight-placed Premier League team into the quarterfinals.
Despite the lack of quality shown in recent weeks, Spurs have been through this before, and just like Ajax there will be a moment where this youthful RB Leipzig team show their fragility. It is a first Champions League campaign for a vast percentage of their squad and only a second for Nagelsmann, and with the wiry mind of Mourinho, who has won the competition twice in the past with underdog teams, you cannot rule the North Londoners out just yet.
Leipzig are without a doubt the better team here, but will the romance of the Champions League takeover? Once again, I recommend moving over to the Asian Lines for some security.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
An expectional display from the Bundesliga title chasers saw Spurs crash out 4-0 on aggregate.