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Before our Champions league match against Spurs I asked Sean Cahill at our SB Nation sister site Cartilage Free Captain a few questions about Spurs about what to expect from the North London side.
Q. How would you rate Tottenhams form this season so far?
A. I know it’s easy to come out and say “We should have 12 points.” But that isn’t the case here. Spurs played well against Chelsea and found themselves on the end of an unexpected Marcos Alonso brace. The match against Burnley that ended 1-1 upset me more than the loss to Chelsea because that was a match Spurs 100% should have won. However, the recent 3-0 win over a revamped Everton side was just the boost needed going into Matchday 1 in the Champions League.
Q. With Dele suspended, who starts in his place and are Spurs in trouble without their young star?
A. I can’t imagine it’ll be anyone other than Heung-Min Son starting. Spurs will probably play their 3-4-2-1 formation and have Dier/Dembele in the pivot, putting Son and Eriksen flanking Harry Kane.
As for trouble, losing Dele is a big blow, especially with matches against Dortmund and Real Madrid. I still think Spurs have enough quality to steal draws or results, but not having one of your best attackers hurts.
Q. The fullback situation at Spurs is rough right now, who starts and are you worried about how they will handle our wings?
A. I think we get the debut of Serge Aurier at right wing-back and Ben Davies will start again at left wing-back. Kyle Walker-Peters and/or Kieran Trippier will be on the bench. Aurier doesn’t concern me as much as Davies does because, while Ben is a good defender, he doesn’t have the pace that Danny Rose possesses, and that’s concerning.
Q. If Spurs could have gotten any BVB summer signing who do you think would have been best?
A. I have wanted Andrey Yarmolenko for a couple of seasons now, so he’s absolutely at the top of the list. The second choice if I couldn’t have Yarmo would be Mahmoud Dahoud, a solid central midfielder that would provide great depth.
Q. Harry Kane?
A. I’ve run out of superlatives to describe him, honestly. The man scored his 100th and 101st goal for Tottenham this past weekend and he continues to say all the right things about making Tottenham his one and only club. We are truly blessed to have one of the best strikers in the world leading the attack, and whatever it takes to keep him happy needs to be done.