Spurs fans will see a couple of familiar faces in the opposition ranks when Villarreal visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening for the Champions League opener, including one man whom Cristian Romero knows very well.
While Tottenham Hotspur will hope to start their Champions League campaign with a win at home, they face a stern test against a tough Villarreal side.
Thomas Frank has admitted that he has been very impressed with Villarreal, describing the La Liga side as “well structured and organised”.
Manor Solomon will have a point to prove against Tottenham after joining Villarreal on loan, but he is not the only familiar face that the Yellow Submarine have in their ranks.
Cristian Romero is excited to lock horns with a former Tottenham defender
Villarreal also boast of former Tottenham centre-back Juan Foyth in their defensive ranks, with the Argentine emerging as one of the pillars of the Spanish side’s defence.
Foyth arrived at Spurs as a teenager from Estudiantes and took his first steps at European football at N17, but he only made 32 appearances for the Lilywhites in his four seasons at the club.
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He now returns to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a 27-year-old veteran, and he is a player that the Spurs captain knows well from their time together in the Argentine national set-up.
When asked about locking horns with Foyth, Romero said in the pre-match press conference (via Reuters): “I know him really well. We played together in the Argentine U-20s and U-23s.
“We managed to spend time together in the national team. He is a great guy and a top player. He was here (at Spurs) as well, so it will be a special game for him.”
Who will make the Spurs starting XI against Villarreal?
We have already seen plenty of evidence that Frank is not shy of rotating his squad, even at this early stage of the season.
With Spurs having played just three days ago against West Ham, one would expect the Dane to ring the changes for the Champions League opener.