After Manchester United’s disappointing defeat at home to Paris Saint Germain, it is now up to Tottenham Hotspur to fly the flag for the English Premier League in Europe. Elsewhere, holders, Real Madrid, will continue the defence of their title with a trip to Amsterdam where they’ll meet four-time European Cup winners, Ajax.
Here at InterBet we take a look at both of Wednesday’s Champions League games, providing the latest match odds.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund
Aiming to reach the last-8 for the first time since 2011, Spurs face an equally daunting task as they welcome Bundesliga leaders, Borussia Dortmund, to Wembley Stadium. With his squad decimated by injuries, manager, Mauricio Pochettino, seems to be performing miracles in keeping Spurs in the hunt for the Premier League title. The home side will once against be without Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Victor Wanyama and Ben Davies. There are further fitness doubts over Danny Rose, Eric Dier and Erik Lamela.
Fernando Llorente is again set to lead the line whilst Son Heung-Min will hope to continue the fine goalscoring form he’s produced since returning from the Asia Cup. Son has scored in each of Spurs’ three games since he returned from South Korea’s disappointing display at the Asia Cup. The Korean forward is 6/1 to score first at Wembley on Wednesday evening.
Dortmund will be seeking revenge when they travel to London. The German giants exited last season’s Champions League at the group stage, finishing third in Group H. Spurs topped the group after defeating their German counterparts both home and away.
New-look Dortmund
However, this season’s Dortmund team is a very different proposition to the one that was dumped out in last season’s group stage. A resurgent Marco Reus and new signing Paco Alcacer have formed a fine partnership for the Germans under new boss, Lucien Favre. The pair have already amassed 29 goals between them, including 25 in the Bundesliga.
One of the main catalysts for their rise to the Bundesliga summit has been the emergence of English youngster, Jadon Sancho. The former Manchester City youth product seems to have leapfrogged Chelsea-bound, Christian Pulisic, in the Dortmund pecking order and is line to start at Wembley Stadium in place of injured captain, Reus.
Sancho has recorded an impressive tally of 8 goals and 11 assists for the Germans already this season, earning him a full England cap. Teammate, Thomas Delaney, recognises Sancho as a special talent and explained the importance of keeping him ground.
Sancho a “Rough Diamond”
Danish international, Delaney, explained, “Jadon is a big, big talent, with talent comes opportunities and he has them for sure. But he is still 18 years old and he has done amazing. He is not where he is supposed to be, he is a rough diamond, he will get there. We try to keep him on the ground because he has a big, big future in front of him and he will do great things, but it takes hard work.”
Sancho has already grabbed the headlines ahead of the game after he caused a delay to the Dortmund flight to the UK. Sancho had forgotten his passport and had to make a quick dash back home to collect it before the squad could travel to England. Incredibly, despite already winning three England caps, Sancho has never played a club match on English soil. The youngster is 9/1 to score first at Wembley Stadium.
Despite the scoring exploits of Sancho, Reus and Alcacer, it is Dortmund’s mean defence which has been most impressive this season. The Germans had the best defensive record in the group stage, conceding just twice in six games.
Match Odds
Tottenham Hotspur – 11/10
Draw – 237/100
Borussia Dortmund – 49/20
To Qualify
Tottenham Hotspur – Evens
Borussia Dortmund – 3/4
Ajax vs Real Madrid
This meeting of two former champions at the recently-renamed Johan Cruyff Arena is a tough one to call. Real Madrid have been anything but consistent in La Liga. The Spanish giants trail fierce rivals, Barcelona, by six points and have already made a managerial change this season. Santiago Solari came in to replace Julen Lopetegui after the latter’s ill-fated spell in charge ended in October.
Filling the void left by the departure of all-time top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, has been as difficult as you’d expect. Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Isco have all come under intense scrutiny in recent months but a return of just 40 La Liga goals compared to the 60 amassed by Barcelona in the same amount of games highlights exactly where Madrid’s troubles lay this season.
One ray of light for Madrid has been the emergence of Vinicius Junior. The big-money capture from Flamengo was seen as an excellent prospect for the future. But, a combination of the first team’s struggles and his fine early-season form for the Real Madrid B team has seen the 18-year old Brazilian fast-tracked into the first team.
Vinicius Junior is expected to start in Amsterdam and the fearless youngster can be backed at a very generous 13/2 to score first. If he does start, it could be at the expense of Welshman, Gareth Bale.
On the youngster’s form and potential, Madrid manager, Solari, explained, “His adaptation has been very fast. He has adapted to a new country, a new culture, a different type of football. He has shown his talent but we have to take care of him.”
Ajax Stars In The Shop Window
The current Ajax squad is littered with some of European football’s hottest prospects and the game at home to Madrid will give them the perfect opportunity to put themselves in the shop window. Frenkie de Jong is set to start despite already agreeing to join Madrid’s bitter rivals, Barcelona this summer. Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt and Kasper Dolberg are amongst a host of young talent that’ll be on display.
The form of former Southampton player, Dusan Tadic, has been a major positive for Ajax this season. Signed primarily as a playmaker, Tadic has been clinical in front of goal and has already fired in 22 goals in 35 games for his new club. Tadic has five goals already in this season’s Champions League, only Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi have scored more.
Match Odds
Ajax – 14/5
Draw – 69/25
Real Madrid – 22/25
To Qualify
Ajax – 57/20
Real Madrid – 2/9
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