by Ian S. Palmer
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English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has its back up against the wall this Thursday, March 17 when they host Borussia Dortmund of the German Bundesliga the second leg of their Europa League round-of-16 match showdown. Dortmund humiliated Spurs with a 3-0 home win in the first leg last Thursday and the English side needs a bit of a miracle to advance to the quarterfinals. Tottenham needs to win 3-0 just to force extra time. If Dortmund should happen to score at White Hart Lane then Spurs need to score at least five times to win by four goals. A draw or any loss by two goals will also see Dortmund advance.
Bet on Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund – Pinnacle Sports Soccer BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle Sports currently lists Dortmund as the favorites to win the 90-minute game at +116 with Tottenham +246 and a draw at +267
Tottenham enters the game after earning a 2-0 Premier League win at Aston Villa on Sunday while Dortmund were 2-0 winners at home against Mainz 05. This is the first two-legged meeting between Tottenham and Dortmund in a competitive European competition. The two sides have met four times in the past in friendlies, with Spurs winning three of the clashes. The German club has met English opponents 20 times competitively in the past with 10 wins, four draws and six losses. They have four wins, a draw and five losses on the road one. Dortmund’s’ hottest scorers at the moment are Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus.
The German team has won nine of its past 10 contests with the lone draw coming against Bayern Munich in Bundesliga action just over a week ago. Dortmund has also recorded 10 clean sheets in their past 12 fixtures and sit in second place in the German league, just five points behind Bayern Munich. Tottenham is challenging for their first English league crown since 1961 and are also in second place in their domestic league, five points back of Leicester City. The team has been beaten twice in Europe this season to go along with five wins and two draws. Their first defeat came at the hands of Belgian side Anderlecht on the road during the group stage.
Tottenham has played 17 times against German clubs in the past in European tournaments and have a record of nine wins, two draws and six losses. They’ve won six times at home while drawing once and losing once to go undefeated. Their biggest scoring threat at the moment is young English international striker Harry Kane. Spurs’ biggest-ever loss in a European competition took place to German club FC Koln when they were thumped 8-0 on the road during the Intertoto Cup tournament in 1995.
Dortmund beat Portuguese club Porto in the round-of-16 to advance to this stage while Spurs downed Fiorentina of the Italian Serie A. Tottenham has a relatively healthy squad to choose from as the only injuries listed are to Jan Vertonghen and Clinton N’Jie. Dortmund may be without the services of Felix Passlack, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Hendrik Bonmann.
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