Tottenham vs Juventus - Does Pochettino stick or twist with forward pair?
Tottenham hold a slender advantage ahead of their welcome of Juventus on Wednesday night, but need to guard against complacency at Wembley. Yes, Spurs have two away goals, but Juventus are the masters of grinding out narrow victories, as exhibited in their last gasp win at Lazio to close the gap at the top of Serie A on Saturday.
That being said, Spurs are no pushovers, with the way they battled back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Juventus in the first leg a prime example. Goals from Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen either side of half time saw a dominant Spurs come from behind to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat and they’ll look to build on that against the Old Lady.
The surprise selection, to an extent, in Turin came in the decision to field Erik Lamela in the attacking three behind Kane at Heung-min Son’s expense for the Argentine’s first Champions League appearance of the season. Of course, it was a decision that reaped rewards. Juventus struggled with Lamela’s immense work ethic off the ball, with the high press wreaking havoc upon an unsuspecting Old Lady backline.
What’s more, Son came into the crunch tie in Italy desperately out of form. The South Korean had registered just one assist in the six matches leading up to the first leg tie and that came in a 1-1 draw with Newport County. Mauricio Pochettino saw best to rest the 25-year-old, with Son featuring for just the last 10 minutes in the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, before restoring the attacking for wins over Rochdale and Huddersfield.
Pochettino’s choice paid off, with Son scoring four and registering one assist in back-to-back starts. Yet, it’s a predicament as to whether the Spurs boss now sticks or twists with his attacking line for Wednesday’s meeting with Juventus. In Son, he has a player in form that is capable of occupying attacking spaces vacated by Kane when he pulls wide or drops deep. A willingness to cut inside from the wing also opens up space for the full-backs to stretch opponents.
Lamela, though, has the better work rate that means Spurs can press Juventus higher up the pitch, a tact that worked well in the first leg, even if the north London side went two goals down early on. Indeed, there are solid arguments for both players to be included in the starting XI, but it’s expected that Pochettino will go for one in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Eriksen and Dele Alli in the other two supporting roles behind Kane.
It’s a selection headache for Pochettino, but a welcome one as he looks to guide Spurs into the quarter-finals of the Champions League at Juventus’ expense.
