Real Madrid and Tottenham will battle again in the UEFA Champions League, as they seek to establish who will win Group H. At the Bernabéu, Mauricio Pochettino’s men held the European Champions to a 1-1 draw, and at Wembley, they’ll look to go one better. Tottenham currently sit atop the group on goal difference, but a win for either side would firmly decide who’ll be getting the more favourable draw in the next round.
Real Madrid are coming into this match off an embarrassing defeat away at Girona which was their first loss to a newly promoted side in 27 years. The historical loss also means that Los Blancos’ 13-game away winning streak has been halted. Zinedine Zidane’s men now find themselves 8 points behind Barcelona, if the gap gets any bigger, the title will be heading back to Catalonia.
For Spurs, they’re coming into this monumental clash on the back of a disheartening 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford. It’s no shame to lose to Manchester United, but it’s the manner of the defeat that will disappoint Mauricio Pochettino most. Tottenham were toothless, lacking creativity and all over the place defensively. Some would attribute this to the absence of Harry Kane, and others would say José Mourinho just tactically nullified Pochettino’s men.
Here are the key battles to look out for as Tottenham take on Real Madrid.
2Harry Winks vs Luka Modrić
The Englishman has been entrusted with the holding fort while others like Mousa Dembele & Victor Wanyama were injured. And in their absence, Winks has done exceptionally well. He may have acquitted him well at the Bernabéu, but that was in a team playing on the counter-attack.
At Wembley, Winks will be given the sole responsibility of dictating the game as the onus will be on Spurs to dominate possession and attack on the front foot. Harry Winks will have to do this against a midfield three of Luka Modrić, Toni Kroos and Casemiro, good luck kid.
