CL R16 Tottenham Hotspurs vs. BVB

Discussion in 'Borussia Dortmund' started by bvbSlash, Feb 12, 2019.

  1. bvbSlash

    bvbSlash Member+

    Jan 7, 2014
    Berlin
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Zagadou is likely going to be forced back into the line-up. Curious to see if Balerdi plays or not. I would rather not risk him and go with a CB pairing of DAZ and Diallo. Otherwise it will be DAZ and Balerdi with Diallo as LB so Gurreiro can play up front.

    The midfield is going to be a pairing of Witsel with Delaney or Dahoud.

    Up front Götze and Sancho will play the full 90 min. Philipp will most likely make an appearance. The rest is to be seen based on what decisions LF makes in the defence.
     
  2. Scheherazade

    Scheherazade Member

    Jun 4, 2016
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    If Zagadou is not 100 percent he should stay benched. He has given away unnecessary penalties when healthy so he may not be experienced enough to handle a big occasion having not started recently. Put Delaney or Witsel next to Diallo. Witsel is good enough to play defence but his midfield role is important, Delaney as CB with Witsel and Dahoud in midfield is another option. Hakimi in Piszczek's spot and Schmelzer at leftback, we could just have enough experience to hold down a weak fort.
     
  3. BVBFNM

    BVBFNM Member+

    Apr 3, 2016
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    After pissing away a three-goal lead last Saturday vs Hoffenheim I've been on edge. Far too many key players are out (Piszczek, Weigl and most importantly Reus), and both of our previous visits to Wembley Stadium have ended in painful defeats. It doesn't bode well at all for us. The only improvement from last season is that we are no longer weighed down by Castro's uselessness

    At this point I would settle for a draw, but whatever happens I fully expect Heung-Min Son to score a goal against us, he always does.
     
  4. HockeytownHeel

    HockeytownHeel Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    Jul 23, 2018
    I hope we dont actually play with Larsen on the wing opposite sancho. It may be a day of creativity and risks and pulisic out wide would be better or perhaps phillip with sancho
     
    kbvb repped this.
  5. hava

    hava Member+

    Apr 30, 2016
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Bürki
    Hakimi Toprak Zagadou Diallo
    Delaney Witsel
    Pulisic Dahoud Sancho
    Götze

    This seems to be the lineup. I'm not sure whether Dahoud will really be a 10 or if it's possibly a 4-3-3 which I don't think would work well. I don't like Diallo at LB again. Maybe this is the more defensive approach but I don't get why we repeat what doesn't work. Schmelzer is on the bench. He's not a fan favourite but would have been a better choice. In theory a third CB could be helpful in deadball situations but I didn't see that in previous games. Guerreiro is on the bench as well which is a bit surprising. Maybe partly rotation but he was doing very well since his increase in playing time and could have been another alternative for LB.
     
  6. eaglespark

    eaglespark Member+

    Apr 9, 2015
    Club:
    Crystal Palace FC
    We have a serious lack of goals in the squad, with Reus and Alacer injured. I think Favre has gone for a very defensive approach.

    It is different playing Diallo with Pulisic ahead of him, 3 in midfield. Pulisic will be expected to keep the width and Diallo won't have to overlap, where as with Raphael, the Portuguese winger as given license to drift in freeing up space out wide.

    It's a much weaker team than usual, but hopefully we can get a result.
     
  7. bvbSlash

    bvbSlash Member+

    Jan 7, 2014
    Berlin
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    I think he wants to keep Raphael fresh so he can inject pace should we need goals. If he's on the field then we have nobody else apart from Pulisic.

    I dont like Schmelzer but I'd pick him over Toprak any day. He adds nothing but subtracts a lot from the starting 11.
     
  8. bvbSlash

    bvbSlash Member+

    Jan 7, 2014
    Berlin
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Damn. Are we playing in London or Dortmund? Spurs playing with a 3 man defence. Their entire formation looks ultra defensive. This works in our favour.
     
  9. astrophyz

    astrophyz Member

    Sep 23, 2016
    Boston, USA
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Egypt
    This is going to be interesting. Not clear which formation we'll play and whether Diallo will go forward. This game will depend on which version of Dahoud will show up. Overall I'm optimistic because Spurs are also injury depleted for today.
     
  10. bvbSlash

    bvbSlash Member+

    Jan 7, 2014
    Berlin
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    I'll be really surprised if we play our standard 4-2-3-1. I think it'll be more of a 4-3-3. I expect to see a lot of midfield battles rather than end to end action. I'll settle for an excruciatingly boring match as long as we win.
     
  11. bvbSlash

    bvbSlash Member+

    Jan 7, 2014
    Berlin
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Spurs are fielding Vertonghen, a CB at LB as well.
     
  12. astrophyz

    astrophyz Member

    Sep 23, 2016
    Boston, USA
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Egypt
    Yes, very strange. They have 4 CB's in the lineup. I don't know which of them ever plays as FB.
     
  13. hava

    hava Member+

    Apr 30, 2016
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Maybe it's a reaction to our recent games and they see a good chance to score through deadball situations while trying to close everything down in their defense and midfield.
     
    astrophyz repped this.
  14. bvbSlash

    bvbSlash Member+

    Jan 7, 2014
    Berlin
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    I am dumbfounded by the Toprak selection. For a tall player he's useless in the air particularly in the box. I'd rather have gambled with Balerdi because Toprak is a sure loser.
     
  15. astrophyz

    astrophyz Member

    Sep 23, 2016
    Boston, USA
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Egypt
    Favre seems to me to be too conservative to give an 18 year old a debut as a starter in a last 16 CL game, esp if he never played in Europe even domestically.
     
  16. astrophyz

    astrophyz Member

    Sep 23, 2016
    Boston, USA
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Egypt
    But I do agree that the alternative of Guerreiro as LB and Diallo as CB would have probably been better.
     
  17. hava

    hava Member+

    Apr 30, 2016
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Very good chance after Tottenham lose the ball in their penalty area. Couldn't see it clearly in the replay but I think if Pulisic passes the ball instead of trying to score from a very tough angle, it's a goal.
     
  18. astrophyz

    astrophyz Member

    Sep 23, 2016
    Boston, USA
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Egypt
    Some scary moments.. but overall I feel we have enough quality to beat them
     
  19. hava

    hava Member+

    Apr 30, 2016
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    The ref is quite bad. Couldn't have been a clearer foul on Sancho just in front of the penalty box. I'd guess it's almost impossible to trip like that by yourself.
     
  20. HockeytownHeel

    HockeytownHeel Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    Jul 23, 2018
    Sancha missed foul was bad...

    Pulisic hasnt been bad at all on the wings

    should have been a goal there for Zagado... great save on his header
     
  21. astrophyz

    astrophyz Member

    Sep 23, 2016
    Boston, USA
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Egypt
    I can see how he would miss it.. but we were so unlucky he missed it :/
     
  22. podrinje

    podrinje Member+

    Borussia Dortmund
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Oct 10, 2013
    Bay Area!
    Club:
    Alemannia Aachen
    Nat'l Team:
    Bosnia-Herzegovina
    Good game by us so far. Spurs are playing a high line but with Verthongen and Alderweiled are playing right into our strenth on the counter which we've been able to exploit thus far.

    Toprak brings nothing to the team as he can't play with the ball at his feet and only passes it back. His positioning is also just as bad defensively. I wouldn't mind if he were to get subbed out for Guerreiro so that Diallo can move inside.
     
  23. eaglespark

    eaglespark Member+

    Apr 9, 2015
    Club:
    Crystal Palace FC
    Too attacking and not needed as long as things stays 0-0. There is no reason to risk anything. We will hopefully have Alcacer, Reus and home advantage for the next game. Favre is right to be cautious. Hopefully we can get an away goal too.

    The missed foul on Sancho was an awful decision and would have been a clear yellow and given us a goal scoring shot, though sadly our three best direct free kick takers aren't on the pitch.

    Gotze is doing well, but we really miss a striker with pace or Reus' bursting runs. Overall it's been good.

    Tottenham have set up to purposely stop Sancho and he is still having an impact.
     
  24. hava

    hava Member+

    Apr 30, 2016
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    0:0 at halftime. Not a bad game by us but at this level, the team has to be more thoughtful when chances are developed. Tottenham had a few dangerous situations as well but so far the game went better than I expected. But it was already mentioned, it will be a question where the goals are coming from. With the players up front, they are the types that almost have to pass the ball into the goal.

    Diallo isn't that bad. He had a few nice dribbles but didn't create anything going forward through passes or combinations. It feels like the guys around him don't seem to trust him in offense.
    0:0 wouldn't be a bad result but getting an away goal would be great.
     

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