Tottenham Hotspur will face one of their biggest challenges this season when they host FC Barcelona on Wednesday. It will be their second group game in the UEFA Champions League and certainly their most important one, with both teams hoping for a top spot finish.
Spurs are coming on the back of a convincing win over Huddersfield Town last weekend. But the Lilywhites fell to a defeat in their first match in the competition and despite Barcelona’s jittery form, they will need to be at their best to get the desired result from this fascinating encounter.
In the build-up to the game, our writer takes a look at how a combined lineup will look based on form and injury status of both the teams.
Team news
Tottenham could face a potential injury crisis with Dele Alli ruled out with a hamstring injury while Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen are both doubts going into this game although Hugo Lloris might be able to return to action.
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence
With Hugo Lloris having an inconsistent start to the season, Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen will get the nod as the goalkeeper.
In defence, Kieran Trippier will start ahead of Nelson Semedo as the right-back of our combined lineup while Umtiti’s absence will pave the way for Davinson Sanchez to partner Toby Alderweireld in defence. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to take Vertonghen into consideration since he’s doubtful to start this midweek.
Jordi Alba will start ahead of Danny Rose/Ben Davies as the left back.
Midfield
Sergio Busquets will be the mainstay in midfield partnered by Ivan Rakitic. Both the midfielders have played better football than Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele this season with the latter also deemed doubtful for the clash. Furthermore, Tottenham’s Victor Wanyama has barely played this season due to injury, making Rakitic and Busquets the ideal pick in midfield.
The attacking component and burden of the midfield will be carried by Philippe Coutinho. With Eriksen doubtful and Alli absent, the Brazilian is uncontested for this spot. He has not been at his best but his explosive nature is hard to predict and ignore.
Attack
We give Harry Kane the edge over Luis Suarez as the leading striker, in what is definitely the toughest pick of this combined lineup. Both the world-class forwards have gone through a rough start to this new campaign but Kane gets the nod ahead due to his excellent form going into this game.
Kane will be supported by the wide-duo of Lionel Messi and Heung-Min Son, who was absolutely superb in the win over Huddersfield and could play a huge role for Tottenham in this game.
