Cartilage Free Captain

You almost have to laugh. One day before a critical final Champions League group match away at Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur could be without two of its defensive starters, in addition to [waves vaguely] everyone else who’s currently injured at the club. The Evening Standard is reporting that Spurs central defender Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro were both absent from morning training on Tuesday, leading to the possibility that they both could miss tomorrow’s match in Germany. Porro was substituted at halftime of this weekend’s 2-2 draw against Burnley. There were no indications of anything wrong with Micky during or after the match.

Despite their woeful Premier League position, Tottenham have done well in Europe this season, thanks to a relatively easy Champions League draw. A home win over Dortmund last week means that if they win tomorrow’s match at Deutsche Bank Park they are guaranteed to finish in the top eight of the Champions League group stage table, meaning they earn a bye straight to the round of 16 and avoiding two playoff games. A draw might also be enough to secure top eight, but could put Spurs in a very awkward position. Tottenham are already guaranteed a place in the playoffs.

There is good news, however — Joao Palhinha, who has missed the past couple of matches with a knock, was spotted in training, suggesting he could be available to play. That would be pretty important, considering new signing Conor Gallagher and Yves Bissouma are not registered for this round of the Champions League, while Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur will miss the next 2-3 months with injuries of their own. Radu Dragusin is also not registered for this stage of the competition. Pape Matar Sarr recently returned from an AFCON-winning campaign with Senegal but has not played for Spurs since his arrival.

Spurs manager Thomas Frank and the squad are currently traveling to Germany to prepare for the competition, and Frank will give an update on the squad during his pre-match press conference this evening.

Van de Ven’s absence means that, most likely, Kevin Danso would slot in beside Cuti Romero in the back line, while Djed Spence would come in for Pedro Porro. Frankfurt are not a very good team and are eliminated from the Champions League competition already, so this is basically a dead rubber match for them. Spurs should have enough healthy talent at their disposal to be able to take care of business against them and punch their ticket to a bye tomorrow, but we should also wait to hear directly from Frank before we make any assumptions.

I’m not sure how or why I started this, but the other day I decided to look at what the Premier League looked liked in the 2016-17 season. I think I was looking at how/why Leicester sacked Claudio Ranieri the year after he won the Premier League and was pushing the club through the Champions League (while also threatening relegation). Maybe it had something to do with Thomas Frank.

Anyways, that led me to look at who the managers were that season. It was actually a pretty interesting season. This was Pep Guardiola’s first with Manchester City, Jose Mourinho was at Chelsea, and Jurgen Klopp hadn’t even joined Liverpool.

Here are a few notable managerial announcements/changes:

Man U: Sacked Louis Van Gaal, appointed Mourinho

Southampton: Ronald Koeman departs

Everton: Ronal Koeman arrives

Chelsea: Antonio Conte arrives

Man City: Pep Guardiola’s first season

Hull City: Steve Bruce resigns, Mike Phelan joins

Sunderland: Sam Allardyce begins his reign with England’s NT

Swansea City: The [brief] Bob Bradley era

Hull City: After sacking Phelan, bring in Marco Silva

Leicester City: Wow they sacked Ranieri!

Looking back at it all, this was a heck of a time on the Premier League managerial merry-go-round. Nothing was more shocking than Ranieri’s departure (which I learnt about while heading home from Wembley Stadium after Spurs exited the Europa League).

But there are some other interesting ones there too. Bob Bradley’s disastrous tenure at Swansea stands out, and Guardiola’s spell at City didn’t get off to the best start possible. And how could we forget Sam Allardyce’s time with the England national team?

Fitzie’s track of the day: I Meant Every Word I Said, by The Milk Carton Kids

And now for your links:

BBC: “Bayern Munich open talks to extend Kane contract”

The Independent: “Dominic Calvert-Lewin denied dream homecoming as Everton and Leeds share spoils”

Tottenham Hotspur Women handed a much improved Liverpool side their first victory of the season. Mia Enderby’s stoppage time brace was the nail in the coffin for Spurs’ lackluster performance.

Lineup

Martin Ho brought Drew Spence back into the side at the expense of Matilda Vinberg but otherwise left the side unchanged.

The Match

Liverpool, replete with reinforcements, dominated possession for the first twenty minutes. An Alex Bergström shot off the crossbar proved to be their best chance of the spell. Spurs looked uncharacteristically shaky in any attempts at keeping the ball – players mislaying passes or dribbling straight into pressure. When we were able to keep the ball, we struggled to advance it much out of our own half thanks to Liverpool’s organized high press and compactness.

The second half began with counterattacks from each side. Drew Spence and Olivia Holdt combined well to put Signe Gaupset through on goal, but Gaupset put her shot straight at Liverpool’s keeper. Beth England also whiffed on a cross that Maika Hamano put over the bar shortly after. The sides traded spells of possession throughout much of the half. Spurs were unable to capitalize, but Lize Kop was called into action to make a few fine saves.

Matilda Vinberg and Julie Blakstad replaced Maika Hamano and Amanda Nildén in the 64th minute, and Tinka Tandberg came on in the 73rd minute in her first start since picking up an injury on international duty in November. But the substitutes never really clicked together, and if anything, the side just looked even more disjointed. Matilda Nildén and Olga Ahtinen (also returning from injury) replaced Olivia Holdt and Beth England in the 87th minute, but neither had much chance to make an impact.

Mia Enderby’s stoppage time brace sealed Spurs’ fate. Liverpool retained possession after Ceri Holland’s free kick. Jenna Clark got a cross off around Matilda Nildén, and Mia Enderby acrobatically sliced a foot between Clare Hunt and Tōko Koga for the finish. Right from the restart, Eveliina Summanen slipped on the ball and Mia Enderby took it off her and made no mistake with the finish.

What went wrong?

It was… not our best performance. Nobody brought their passing boots, and our main ball progressors – Signe Gaupset and Olivia Holdt – were both kept quiet for much of the game. We seemed to struggle to play through Liverpool’s high press, and while they left plenty of space in behind, we were mostly unable to exploit it because our forwards aren’t particularly fast, and our nominal starting wingers (Olivia and Maika) are both players who are more comfortable playing centrally.

When Liverpool had possession, it sometimes looked like the entire Spurs side had forgotten how and when to press, or where to stand to stop Liverpool from carving the team open end to end. Liverpool’s new signings appear to be excellent (how about Aurelie Csillag??), and while ours showed plenty of promise against Leicester, they didn’t quite connect with the rest of the squad on the day.

Martin Ho tried to change the game with substitutions, but they only served to further destabilize the side. In the end, Mia Enderby capitalized on some lapses in organization and focus in our defense. A devastating ending to a generally anemic Spurs performance.

How concerned should we be?

I’ve got to be honest, my first instinct after many years of watching Tottenham Hotspur Women is to freak out at the first sign of a downturn. We’ve got a history! Skinner brought the side to a record high 5th place in the WSL before nearly leading us to relegation. Vilahamn took us on a legendary cup run with a 6th place finish before also nearly leading us to relegation. Both Skinner’s and Vilahamn’s sides fell apart a bit in the latter stages of their successful seasons, so of course losing against the bottom team in the league is going to get my heart racing.

Second, Spurs have experienced a lot of squad turnover this January (five in, three out at the time of writing). So much churn can temporarily unsettle things on the pitch. We saw that today, for example, in the failure to link up between Maika Hamano and Josefine Rybrink, among others. I expect Martin Ho to come up with better solutions for how to use the new players he has at his disposal.

Individual performances will also improve as players grow more accustomed to the league. For example, we knew going in that while Gaupset is kind of already a star, she turns over the ball a lot and is still working on the defensive side of her game. Sure enough, she gave away the ball quite a few times against Liverpool, and that left us scrambling to cover behind her. But I strongly suspect this part of her game will improve as she settles in.

All that said, I am a little concerned about squad construction. We have way too many central players. We had like four number tens in the starting lineup (OK, I’m stretching the truth a little bit but technically Olivia, Signe, Drew and Maika all fit the bill so let me have it) and no true wingers. It’s been obvious since the start of the season that we need high quality wingers. We’ve had plenty of time to arrange this. Where are they? Additionally, Eveliina has played through broken ribs and all sorts of hard hits this season, and we don’t seem to have prioritized bringing in another defensive midfielder to give her some cover. We saw the worst possible consequences of her exhaustion after her slip leading to Mia Enderby’s second goal.

We still could bring in more players before the transfer window closes on January 31st, but the longer it takes, the more concerned I get. I suppose the squad in general is stronger and much deeper than it was prior to January 1st, so the downside here is like “we come in 6th or 7th instead of 3rd or 4th.” This would still be an improvement upon last year, and maybe we’re planning a bunch of astonishing transfers for wingers and DMs in the summer. But I just want us to be smart now!!!

Anyway, we face West Ham next, another side that’s been struggling at the bottom of the table and looking to bounce back. Let’s see what happens, both on the pitch and off. I’m expecting a big response from Martin Ho and the team in the intervening week.

Well, this wasn’t the transfer rumor I was expecting. According to Italian journalist Mateo Moretto, West Ham is apparently in active negotiations with Tottenham and are close to signing Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky on loan until the end of the season. The agreement would also have a purchase option this summer.

Wild, and totally not what I saw coming. Now, you could ask yourself why an Italian journalist would have the scoop on a Czech keeper potentially switching between two English sides. I myself am asking myself this same question! It does seem like a bit of a weird deal. Kinsky joined Spurs a year ago, in January 2025, from Slavia Prague. At the time he was brought in he was a highly regarded, if very young, keeper and the expectation was that he would “challenge” Guglielmo Vicario for the starting role in goal. It was all very exciting at the time. Real competition at keeper? A reliable backup that we can use to rotate situationally depending on competition and opponent? What an exciting problem to have! Why, all we have to do is train Kinsky Boots up a couple of seasons, sell Guglielmo for £50m, and have a ready made replacement!

The reality is a bit bleaker. While Kinsky made 11 appearances for Spurs last season, most of them while Vicario was hurt, he has only two starts this season, both in the FA Cup. There have been background reports that Kinsky has not developed in the way that the club expected him to, and this rumor might be the end result of that. I really don’t know what’s going on at the training ground, but it does seem as though Kinsky is not close to pushing Vicario for the starting position. Kinsky leaving would mean that Brandon Austin would jump up to be Vicario’s primary backup keeper, assuming Spurs don’t bring in another backup keeper in the final week of the January transfer window.

Keep in mind that Moretto has also previously reported that Vicario wants to return to Italy this summer, with Inter Milan apparently interested. If Vicario and Kinsky both leave, that’s a massive amount of turnover to have to absorb and acclimate in one summer. It certainly doesn’t fill me with a ton of confidence, that’s for sure.

There are PLENTY of reasons to be skeptical of this rumor, but if it is true we’re probably going to get some clarity on it sooner rather than later. Watch this space.

It’s one that’s over almost as quickly as it begun. Tottenham Hotspur’s move for Liverpool Andy Robertson is now reportedly no longer on the table:

Initially broken by Paul Joyce at The Times, the report has now been followed up by the likes of Alasdair Gold at Football.London and David Ornstein at The Athletic, with all of them saying the same thing: Liverpool have pulled the plug on a move - but that doesn’t mean a move still can’t happen.

As much as Spurs are struggling for depth, the Liverpool brass aren’t willing to sacrifice their own, hoping to recall Greek defender Kostas Tsimikas from his loan at Roma to make up numbers. Starting left back Milos Kerkez was pulled at half-time in the Reds’ match against Bournemouth on Saturday as Arne Slot attempted to manage his load, and Joe Gomez has picked an injury, meaning Liverpool aren’t exactly flush with defensive options right now.

Roma, however, have at this stage rejected the recall, currently unable to find a suitable replacement. Why they are able to say “no” is anyone’s guess; there could be clauses that penalize Liverpool in case of an unsanctioned recall, or perhaps Liverpool just don’t want to damage a club-to-club relationship in a move that could have long-term ramifications just to sell somebody who is seen as a club stalwart at Anfield. This does indicate though that if Roma find somebody to step in, Robertson’s transfer to Spurs could still happen.

It’s the latest in a long series of failures in Johan Lange’s transfer business, and though once more circumstances are largely out of Spurs’ control, the need for left back depth has been a pressing need for some time; a need that has been only exacerbated by Ben Davies’ ankle injury. Was Robertson the right option? He’s a solid player who has passing ability, good experience, and wouldn’t cost a ton; but you have to think there are better options out there who won’t command as large a wage and that aren’t in their early 30’s.

Whether Lange (and Spurs) will sign one of those in January is another question that remains to be answered.

Good morning everyone - I hope you’re all staying warm amid this winter storm that’s gone through a fair chunk of the US.

Your hoddler-in-chief probably should take his own advice. But instead he went out for a long run this weekend.

As I’ve shared before, I’m in training for my next marathon, which is a little more than two months out. Going through my training schedule I can’t believe I’m nearly halfway through.

Let me tell you something: Running 20 miles in sub-freezing temperatures is not ideal. This was my first of three 20-mile runs planned, and I was pretty determined to go out there. The temperature was a brisk 10F (-17C) when I went out. That made it important to dress properly. I wore two thin ankle-cut socks, over which I wore thicker and longer socks. Plus a baselayer compression pants, running shorts, a warm long-sleeve over a tank top, running gloves, a running buff to cover my head and ears, and a second to cover my mouth and nose. The little bit of exposed skin was given some vaseline.

This type of year makes me question why I signed up for a spring marathon. I knew these temperatures were coming, but I still don’t enjoy them. And it took me a little while to get warmed up, but things really clicked once I did.

But what I really enjoyed was the running route itself, which continues to expand as I increase my mileage. Saturday’s run brought me the furthest north I’ve ventured in DC yet, well north of the Smithsonian Zoo and alongside Rock Creek and up Piney Branch Valley. Incredible scenes.

Halfway through my water bottle and gels both froze. And the running buff I used to cover my mouth kept freezing, so I continually rotated it until it became a crinkly frozen piece and immovable piece of fabric.

As for the running itself, I felt very good. I’m always happy when I achieve negative splits, and my second 10 miles were right around marathon pace. Most of all the legs felt good this week and I felt I could run for at least a couple more miles.

I left home around 9.15am and by the time I finished my run two hours and 25 minutes later, Tottenham were putting on the final touches of their draw against Burnley. Running 20 miles was the better choice that day.

Jack P-B ($$): “Thomas Frank has failed to do what he was brought to Tottenham Hotspur to do”

I don’t even know what to say. Four days after Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank saved his job by running roughshod over Dortmund at home in the Champions League, this same Spurs side came to Turf Moor to play relegation-threatened Burnley and again were unable to come away with a win. Spurs opened up the scoring in the first half with a strike by Micky van de Ven off of a corner kick, but couldn’t keep the lead, letting Axel Tuanzebe equalize on a defensive mistake just before halftime. Spurs then capitulated in the second half courtesy of a Lyall Foster go-ahead goal before Cuti Romero pulled back the equalizer from a late header.

Thomas Frank made a tactical tweak for this match, bringing Kevin Danso into the side and playing three at the back with Djed Spence and Pedro Porro as advanced wingbacks. That worked pretty well with Spurs having the majority of possession in the opening 45 minutes, though Spurs wasted numerous opportunities in and around Burnley’s box to take what could’ve been a commanding lead. At halftime, Frank fulled Pedro Porro for Destiny Udogie as Spurs locked into a 3-4-3 that turned out to be mostly ineffective. Spurs’ passing was woeful, their offense worse, and Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka had nine saves for the Clarets. Things got interesting late after Mathys Tel forced another good stop from a diving Dubravka and Xavi Simons clanked a rocket off the bar.

But in the end, it the match ended as another disappointing result against a team that Spurs really should be beating. Tottenham have now dropped points to all three teams in the relegation zone and are now only eight points above the drop zone with a brutal stretch of matches upcoming.

Here are my match reactions. Spoiler: I’m pretty mad.

Match reactions

The back three formation is an interesting wrinkle for Frank as it allows Djed Spence to play as an attacking winger, something that worked really well vs. Dortmund. It kinda worked here, but Spence was pretty up and down during this one.

Early brightness from Tottenham in attack, though as usual the finishing kind of let them down. A couple of moments where players didn’t see others making good runs into space and choosing to lay off or dribble into traffic.

The plan seemed to be, at least initially, to let Burnley have the ball and hit on transitions. It worked, kinda, but Burnley broke through the defense a couple of times for chances that ended up flagged for offside.

Shoutout to Yves Bissouma who looked really good in central midfield, at least until he ran out of steam late. He looked super motivated, which is good, because we need him to be motivated like this, maybe he understood that this was probably his last chance to make a good impression at Spurs.

I have Dubravka in my fantasy team because he’s a good keeper and he had some really annoyingly good saves in this match.

Another lovely goal from Micky though again it’s noticeable that the goal came on a corner kick and not from the myriad of chances Spurs wasted from open play.

I had a comment written about how Kyle Walker looked absolutely cooked and then he put a ball on a plate to Tuanzebe for the equalizer and now I’m just mad because that was just terrible defending from Spurs not to track the runner into the box. That was Solanke’s man and he just let him go.

Another Frank first half where Spurs actually played decently well but wasted so many open play chances because the front line players aren’t especially great and/or aren’t being coached to look for open runners and cutters, and then they made one stupid defensive mistake in an otherwise good performance to let in an easy equalizer. This team is so aggravating.

Interesting choice to take off Porro for Udogie at halftime, which locked Spurs into a 3-4-3 formation that didn’t really work at all in the second half.

I’m still an Odobeliever and think he’s made a leap this season, but holy smokes his passing was atrocious today. He’s not the only bad passer on this team (Conor Gallagher couldn’t pass his way out of a paper bag today, Vic’s distribution was again catastrophic) but it was especially noticeable when Spurs got the ball around Burnley’s box.

That late Burnley goal was coming for a while and everyone knew it. The only surprising thing was that it didn’t come from Walker or Marcus Edwards to make it a truly #narrative-laden goal.

Wonderful header from Cuti to level the score, but does it bother everyone else that we only seem to get goals from our defenders right now? Micky is now one goal short of Richarlison for the team’s top scorer, and that’s… well, that’s bad.

I’m putting this draw on Frank, 100%. Spurs actually looked decent, if flawed, in the first half and while I can understand making a tactical change for this match he actually made us worse by not making good and timely subs and sticking to something that it was clear was not working. This is a loser team with a loser head coach playing loser football. He’s got got GOT to go, man.

Spurs are now only eight points out of the relegation zone and have a brutal stretch coming up including games against City, United, Newcastle, a surprising Fulham, and Arsenal. This could get seriously ugly very, very fast.

This team. I say we give up this Premier League lark and go, IDK, win the Bundesliga or something because I’m just so tired of watching us on the struggle bus against beatable teams in England.

The vibes at Tottenham Hotspur have been about as toxic as I’ve ever seen them, but nothing puts things right like a comfortable home win in the Champions League. That’s exactly what Spurs got — first half goals from Cuti Romero and Dominic Solanke put Spurs up two goals by halftime over a ten-man Dortmund, and while the second half was slightly more fraught, Tottenham did enough to see the match out, winning comfortably over a Dortmund side that has only one Bundesliga loss so far this season. The final score was 2-0.

Say what you want about Thomas Frank and his job prospects, today he got it exactly right despite a ton of absences. Micky van de Ven was one of the most notable, as he served a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation. Kevin Danso replaced him on the right side of the defense, with Cuti sliding over to Micky’s usual position. More unusually, Djed Spence started as a left winger, with Destiny Udogie at left back behind him. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall anchored the midfield, with Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert, and Dom Solanke, making his first start all season, ahead. Pedro Porro was Pedro Porro.

Spurs came out flying, attacking Dortmund from the opening whistle and looking to get balls into the box. They broke through via a set piece just 14 in, with Wilson Odobert squaring a ball to Cuti Romero’s boot, which he easily converted to put Spurs ahead. The match changed abruptly ten minutes later after Dortmund defender was sent off for a VAR-assisted dangerous tackle on Odobert. Spurs pressed their advantage and went two up late in the first half through Dominic Solanke, his first goal of the season.

Up comfortably and also up a player, Tottenham took their foot off the gas slightly, showing a little more patience for opportunities in front of Dortmund’s goal rather than pushing hard for a third. Part of that was dictated by Dortmund, who came out in the second half pressing higher and trying to disrupt and discombobulate Tottenham in possession. Lucas Bergvall was forced to the sidelines after a hefty challenge with Emre Can that forced his substitution for teenage debutante Jun’ai Byfield. Randal Kolo Muani later came on as a late sub for Solanke.

Here are my match reactions for the game.

Match reactions

Thomas the Frank Engine keeps chugging along. Somehow the Tottenham Hotspur manager is still in place to lead what is left of the squad in a challenging Champions League match against Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund after it seemed like the Danish manager’s tenure was all but over.

Spurs actually have a rather good record against the German side, winning their four last encounters, but it’s hard to confident of that outcome here; almost as hard as it is to call this Spurs side a football team - and I’m not saying that to be derogatory of their play (well, maybe a bit), but as a reminder that due to the numerous absences thanks to injury, illness, and suspension, the Lilywhites barely have a senior XI available.

It’s a side with only one win in the past month against a side sitting second in the German top-flight; but football isn’t played on paper.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Borussia Dortmund

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Time: 3:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. UK

TV: DAZN USA, TNT Sports 1 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Paramount+

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

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Have fun, and COYS!

The cups are gone; the league is nearly dead. In some twisted irony, once again a (maybe lame duck?) Tottenham Hotspur manager’s fate may lie in Europe. The difference this time around is that Spurs have no real chance at lifting a trophy, meaning there really may be very little Thomas Frank can actually do to save his long-term prospects at the club. However, crashing out of the Champions League is one way to surely accelerate his demise.

Tottenham is highly likely to advance from the League Phase despite the respectable two names left on the fixture list, and there is even an outside shot at getting a bye into the Round of 16. Doing that requires wins over a pair of German sides, starting with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. Both teams are flawed but have done well enough in this competition so far, leading to an interesting battle in North London.

UCL League Phase MW7

Date: Tuesday, January 20

Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: Paramount+ (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

Table: Spurs (t-10th, 11 pts), BVB (t-10th, 11 pts)

At one point, Spurs saw Dortmund three times in four seasons, making them one of the most frequent opponents amongst Europe’s top clubs. The Europa League Round of 16 defeat in 2015/16 was wiped away with two wins that helped Tottenham top its 2017/18 Champions League group. A memorable 4-0 win on aggregate in the following season’s Round of 16 featured domination at Wembley, then a heroic defense effort at Signal Iduna Park was validated by Harry Kane right out of halftime.

Two Things to Watch

Glory, glory nights

Tottenham’s home form in the league continues to sink lower, sitting 17th in points after the latest debacle over the weekend. Not so is the case in the Champions League, however, with nine points taken through three League Phase contests thus far with an aggregate scoreline of 8-0. The quality of competition could be questioned, but the problems that arise domestically do not seem to be the case on European nights.

That reality will be tested on Tuesday. Dortmund will be the best team yet to visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and while a 1-4 loss at the Etihad was unimpressive, the other two road matches featured four goals at Copenhagen and four more at Juventus. No team has scored more than Dortmund in the League Phase, and level on points with Spurs, they will be equally motivated to try to jump into the top eight.

Domestically, Dortmund are second in the table and second in goal difference. This is a quality side (12th per Opta) and one that figures to provide a difficult test for Frank. There remains the thought that Spurs play to their competition, and a home fixture means something much different in Europe than the Premier League, but poor effort will be punished by this squad.

Gridlock

Despite both team’s form in this competition and the ability to level up their play based on the occasion, there is a world where this contest ends up fairly uneventful. Even with the addition of Conor Gallagher, the Spurs midfield leans defensive, and Micky van de Ven’s yellow card suspension is likely to make Frank even less ambitious in his both his squad selection and tactics than usual.

Meanwhile, the Dortmund defense should feel optimistic about slowing down whoever ends up in the Tottenham attack, with the back three finding plenty of success behind the industrious midfield. It will be interesting to see how directly the visitors look to attack themselves, especially without the speedy van de Ven around to chase down through balls. With this in mind, expect Spurs to play it safer.

The only reason I could see this match opening up is because of all of the pressure on Frank. While a draw here and a win against Frankfurt would be a reasonable situation on paper, how much patience does the club really have for the struggling manager? Three points would definitely provide a boost — and would probably buy him a little more time, which might just be the biggest motivating factor, despite how long he claims a turnaround takes.