Tuesday 5 March 2019 18:21, UK
Tottenham will take a 3-0 advantage into their Champions League last-16 second-leg tie away to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday (kick-off 8pm) as they aim to reach the quarter-finals.
Heung Min-Son, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente all scored in the opening game at Wembley three weeks ago, with Tottenham aiming for just their second Champions League quarter-final.
Every team who has won 3-0 at home in the first leg of a knockout game in the competition has made it into the next round, and Mauricio Pochettino says his side are focused on victory.
"We want to go to the next round in a very important competition like the Champions League," he said. "We all agree that we need to perform in the best way, it will be a tough game, very difficult.
"Always for me the most important is the Premier League, the more consistent team always wins. The best team always wins the trophy. In the cups, the circumstances can make a difference."
The first-leg score represents an uphill battle for Dortmund - who have lost their last three encounters with Tottenham in Europe - and Lucien Favre says they will need to do something extraordinary.
"We have already played many games in this stadium where we have written history and we are in a position to achieve the impossible," he said.
"We have to be clever, we have to reach our total peak and we have to score the goals at the right moment. If they score it will be very difficult, but the whole team believes in themselves.
"We have to give a top performance, it is very difficult but nothing is impossible. We know we can score goals but we have to be very clever with the way we play. We have to be careful with how we attack."
Harry Winks (hip) and Eric Dier (tonsillitis) have returned to training and travelled with the squad to Germany. Dele Alli (hamstring) will remain out, but has begun to integrate with first-team training.
Marco Reus is fit after missing the first leg with a thigh strain, although Marcel Schmelzer and Christian Pulisic will face late fitness tests. Lukas Piszczek remains sidelined.
Tottenham have won their three previous encounters with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, twice in last season's group stages (3-1 at Wembley, 2-1 at the Signal Iduna Park) and in this season's round of 16 first leg (3-0 at Wembley).
Borussia Dortmund conceded more goals in the first leg against Tottenham (3) than they did in the entire group stages earlier this season (2).
Tottenham secured their joint-biggest Champions League victory in the first leg against Borussia Dortmund, winning by a three-goal margin for the fifth time in the competition.
Borussia Dortmund have lost 10 of their last 13 Champions League knockout games (W3), after losing only one of their previous 14 (W9 D4).
Eleven of Tottenham's 12 goals in the Champions League this season have come in the second half (92 per cent).
Tottenham have scored in each of their last 17 Champions League games, their longest run in the competition. They've also only ever lost one game in the Champions League (out of 31 played) by more than two clear goals, against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in April 2011 (0-4).
Borussia Dortmund's attacking trio of Mario Gotze, Jadon Sancho and Christian Pulisic only had one shot combined in the first leg against Tottenham.
It's not over, the way Spurs are going through things at the moment. There's some tidying up to be done. Spurs are on the ropes, not playing well, the effort and energy is there but defensively they're vulnerable. Pochettino doesn't know what his best centre-back pairing is, it's disrupted them.
Dortmund were the better team at Wembley in the first half but ended up losing 3-0 so we know how quickly this can turn - I think Spurs need a goal to get through, and I think they will because there's a goal in them. It's going to be a nervy night, but Dortmund will have to go gung-ho which helps them.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 3-1 (12/1 with Sky Bet)
