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da spicy bet： Mauricio Pochettino’s best hopes of beating Borussia Dortmund lie in Eric Dier, but the midfielder will have to prove his fitness upon his return from emergency surgery.
The Chalkboard
Tottenham have been drawn to face the current Bundesliga leaders in the Champions League Round of 16 after Spurs progressed at the expense of Inter Milan.
Lucien Favre, meanwhile, has sparked a resounding turn of fortunes at the German outfit since his arrival in the summer, with his side unbeaten in their opening 15 league matches – picking up draws on three occasions.
Amongst their star players is captain Marco Reus, who is instrumental in organising the yellow wall’s offence, and has been crowned the division’s Player of the Month on two occasions.
Pochettino’s best chance of eliminating the German outfit in February could be down to Dier, who has been ruled out of the festive period following emergency surgery to remove his appendix.
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Why will Dier be key?
There are few men in Tottenham’s midfield that can command the space between the lines as well as Dier.
The 24-year-old is best suited to that position for he lacks the offensive skills to play a box-to-box role, but his awareness from playing in defence ensures he can cut out the opponents play.
Altogether, Dier has attempted 45 tackles in 13 Premier League appearances, and intercepted the ball on a further 14 occasions.
Winks’ weakness would come through
Despite Harry Winks possessing great ability on the ball, and can easily play a box-to-box role better than Dier, the 22-year-old lacks the defensive nous to shut out Borussia Dortmund’s blistering stars.
If Pochettino desires mobile options in the heart of his side, with Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney both deep-lying threats, that is where Winks would shine, playing as part of a three-man midfield mirrored by Moussa Sissoko, but Dier would have to be the base of the triangle.
The zippy play BVB can attack with will have to be countered by someone who can slot between the lines and sit as another centre-back, and Dier is the only option Spurs have for this.
Simply shadowing Reus will not be enough to keep the Black and Yellows offence from firing on all cylinders, with Jadon Sancho, Jacob Bruun Larsen and Paco Alcacer all threats on their own, before you get to the overlapping full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Lukasz Piszczek.