Champions League: Kieran Trippier taking on Dan-Axel Zagadou is key battle as Tottenham take on Dortmund
Mauricio Pochettino will be desperate to avoid defeat with Real Madrid also awaiting in the 'group of death'
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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR get their Champions League campaign underway this week, with Borussia Dortmund the first visitors to Wembley.
Spurs will be hoping Europe’s elite club competition season goes better for them than it did last season, where they failed to make it out of their group, instead finishing third and being sent to the Europa League.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side know their home form will be key if they want to get out of Group H, which has been dubbed the ‘group of death’, with current Champions League winners Real Madrid and Cypriot champions APOEL Nicosia the other teams in the group.
But, they are yet to win at Wembley this season, having lost to Chelsea and drawn with Burnley.
Kick off is at 7.45pm on Wednesday 13 September, with the match being covered on BT Sport.
Our friends at Football Whispers have previewed the game.
Key battle: Kieran Trippier vs Dan-Axel Zagadou
When Tottenham look at how Dortmund line up, they will surely line up Dan-Axel Zagadou as a player to target.
Aged just 18, the French youngster hadn’t played football for a senior time before this season, with his only previous appearances coming for Paris Saint-Germain’s reserve side.
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He has never played in the Champions League before, but has made four appearances for Dortmund since arriving this summer for the Ligue 1 side on a five-year contract.
With Marcel Schmelzer ruled out for around six weeks after suffering ligament damage in the weekend’s clash with Freiburg, Zagadou will stand in for the Dortmund captain at left-back.
Kieran Trippier will be a real test for the teenager, with the former Burnley back likely to bomb forward from right wing-back and try and put some decent crosses in the area for the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli to do some damage with.
Potential match-winners: Harry Kane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Tottenham’s biggest threat will come from Kane.
The forward is one of the best in Europe, and now has 101 goals for Spurs after his double against Everton on Saturday.
He’s won the Premier League golden boot for two seasons in a row and has been named in the PFA Team of the Year three times now – Dortmund will be worried about him.
But, it’s not just Kane they’ll fear, Alli and Christian Eriksen are capable of scoring and creating – the Englishman has 34 goals for Spurs, while the Dane has 43.
Tottenham will feel that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Dortmund’s biggest threat.
He scored 40 goals in all competitions last season, and already has six so far this campaign.
Spurs fans will know of him too – he’s played Tottenham twice before, scoring a total of two goals.
Managers’ tactics
Pochettino has two systems he favours at Spurs, either 3-4-2-1 or 4-2-3-1, both of which see Tottenham look very good.
He went for a 3-4-3 last weekend at Everton, and after a comprehensive 3-0 win, there is no reason for him to change.
Peter Bosz has preferred a 4-3-3 throughout his managerial career, with Ajax lining up like that last season.
He’s taken that to Dortmund and is using Nuri Sahin as a holding midfielder, with the former Liverpool midfielder thriving in that role so far this season.
How the teams are likely to be set up
Tottenham Hotspur
Victor Wanyama remains out with a knee injury, while Moussa Sissoko suffered a calf injury against Everton.
Mousa Dembele sat out the match at Goodison Park, with the Belgian struggling to play three games in a week, so expect him to come into the starting lineup.
3-4-2-1
Lloris
Alderweireld Sanchez Vertonghen
Trippier Dier Dembele Davies
Alli Eriksen
Kane
Borussia Dortmund
Captain Marcel Schmelzer and fellow defender Marc Bartra won’t play after suffering injuries against Freiburg.
They join the likes of Marco Res, Raphael Guerreiro, Andre Schurrle, Erik Durm and Sebastian Rode on the sidelines, while Jadon Sancho won’t play after he was unable to be registered in their Champions League squad.
4-3-3
Burki
Piszczek Sokratis Toprak Zagadou
Gotze Sahin Castro
Philipp Aubameyang Pulisic
Key stats heading into the game
The two teams have only met twice before. Borussia Dortmund won both the Europa League games in 2015 - 3-0 and then 2-1.
Tottenham have played 12 games at Wembley since it was rebuilt, winning just twice.
The top scorer in the Bundesliga and the Premier League last season will be on show. Aubameyang managed 32 goals for Dortmund last season, while Kane scored 29.
Expect an attacking game – both teams have averaged a similar amount of shots this season so far, with Tottenham on 19.8 and Dortmund on 19.3.
