Champions League: Spurs Are Hoping for Some Euro Home Comfort

Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund

European football is back on the agenda in North London on Tuesday when Champions League: Tottenham vs Dortmund is the entertainment on offer.

And the hosts are yearning for some good news on their home turf. 

Thomas Franks’ Spurs come into the game on the back of three consecutive losses and the Danish head coach is under increasing pressure, which could easily reach boiling point this week after his team fell at home to strugglers West Ham United. Meanwhile Niko Kovac’s Borussia Dortmund come into the game with back to back league wins and, while Spurs have home advantage and have won four and drawn two of their last six home Champions League ties, the Tottenham vs Dortmund betting odds can hardly split the two clubs. 

They are sitting 11^th and 10^th in the Champions League table, locked on 11 points, and both teams can climb into the automatic qualification places with a win; so we are in for a tight contest, and one in which the Spurs manager really needs to see some progress in his team. 

 

Talking Points

Frank’s week of destiny

Speculation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium around the future of their head coach is reaching fever pitch, and another week of toil could signal the end for the likeable Frank. Next weekend his team visits Burnley, currently 19^th and staring relegation in the face; but Turf Moor is never the easiest place to visit and the Clarets have started to rally, drawing their last two league games, against Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as spanking Millwall in the FA Cup.

So imagine heading up to East Lancashire without a win in six!

Against West Ham Spurs were toothless in attack and lost 2-1 to an injury time winner but, in all honesty, the centre back pairing of Cristian Romero and Mickey van de Ven looked the most likely to make things happen. Skipper Romero scored Spurs’ goal against the Hammers with a thumping header while Van de Ven tried to get things moving with some positive runs out of defence.

Frank may turn to Lucas Bergvall and Dominic Solanke for attacking threat while Yves Bissouma is back from AFCON and can bolster the midfield; but this team needs to regain its belief.            

 

Dortmund are riding a wave

Confidence is coursing through the veins of BVB after they picked up seven points from three league games since the post Christmas Bundesliga resumption, after heading into the break with a win over Borussia Monchengladbach. On Saturday, 81,000 fans packed into the Signal Iduna Stadium to watch Die Schwarzgelben score a 95^th minute winner in a five goal thriller to beat St Pauli 3-2 and cement their second place in the Bundesliga table.

Captain Emre Can was the man who converted the decisive penalty after Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt had given Die Schwarzgelben a two goal lead. On the back of a 3-3 draw away to Eintracht Frankfurt and a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen, Dortmund have shown they can score freely, bagging 14 goals in the last six games.         

Runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern are looking sure to retain their title, but BVB are clear in second place and Kovac’s stock is rising again, with Premier League giants Manchester United reported to be interested in bringing him to Old Trafford, but Borussia will be keen to keep hold of their man. He’s certainly happy in Dortmund and has a talented squad of players at his disposal, with striker Serhou Guirassy primed for a return after he started on the bench against St Pauli.   

 

History

With three wins and three draws from the last six games Dortmund’s form is strong, while Spurs are floundering with one win, two draws and three defeats from their last six outings. 

But the good news for home fans is that their side has bossed the head to head Tottenham vs Dortmund results with five wins to two, and two to one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And the Londoners have won the last four meetings, between 2017 and 2019, when Spurs took a 1-0 victory away from the Signal Iduna Stadium.  

 

Betting Tip

Spurs are the marginal favourites to win this tie at SBOTOP odds of 2.55 with Dortmund at 2.63 and it could go either way. But Tottenham are bereft of confidence right now and I don’t think they’ll have enough to beat a buoyant Borussia and, for a correct score line I’d go for a 2-2 draw at odds of 11.50.     

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, X and Instagram.