European expert predicts surprise eighth-place finish in the Champions League phase one for Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur
Thomas Frank will enjoy his first taste of Champions League action when Tottenham Hotspur welcome Villarreal to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night.
Spurs are returning to the elite European competition after two seasons and will want to go all guns blazing. The Europa League triumph in Bilbao opened the gate to the Champions League, where the Lilywhites are set to face Villarreal, Bodo/Glimt, AS Monaco, FC Copenhagen, Paris Saint-Germain, Slavia Praha, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Thomas Frank’s side start their European adventure with the visit of Villarreal, who finished fifth in La Liga last season. Facing the Yellow Submarine in the very first game is a tough assignment, but the Tottenham players will have the home support behind them.
European expert predicts surprising Champions League league phase finish for Tottenham
European football expert Andy Brassell has made a surprising claim regarding Tottenham in the Champions League. He feels Spurs have a “great chance” of making the top eight.
“If we talk about pacing ourselves and Jeff Stelling was talking about the physical load on players and squads, I think Spurs are in a really interesting position,” Andy Brassell said on talkSPORT show.
“If you look at the fixtures they’ve drawn, it’s not the worst run of fixtures anyone’s got.
“But I just wonder, obviously, people look at Liverpool and Arsenal, Spurs are going to be able to ease into this. I think they’ve got a great chance of making the top eight, and then you get that rest in February when everyone else is playing a double header.”
Tottenham need to get winning start vs Villarreal
Tottenham will lock horns with Villarreal for the first time in a European competition. Heading into the game, the Lilywhites have won three of their four Premier League games, while the Yellow Submarine have bagged two victories out of four La Liga fixtures. Thomas Frank’s side put three past West Ham United without any reply last time out, while Marcelino’s men were beaten 2-0 by Atletico Madrid.
There are several key battles to look forward to on Tuesday. Villarreal had a strong attacking unit last season, outscoring every team except Barcelona and Real Madrid. Summer signing from Lyon, Georges Mikautadze has joined former Premier League stars Nicolas Pepe and Ayoze Perez to cause problems for Tottenham. That said, the home side’s defence have to be resolute, which they have actually been this season thus far, as demonstrated by three clean sheets in four league fixtures.
With an astute tactician in Frank and a strong squad at his disposal, Spurs can very well become the surprise-package in this edition’s Champions League. But first and foremost, they must get their campaign up and running by beating Villarreal at home.
