Tottenham vs. Borussia Dortmund: 5 key matchups

Tottenham take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday. Here are five key matchups that could decide the tie.

Tottenham face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday in one of the first leg of one of the standout ties of the Champions League round of 16.

One of the many wonderful things about Dortmund this season is the fact they’ve rediscovered the free-flowing attacking soccer that became associated with them during the Jurgen Klopp years. Lucien Favre has made more than a few tweaks to this team, but the emphasis on attack is still there.

Amid the high-octane, all-action soccer, there will be key individual battles across the pitch that will help shift the momentum of the tie one way or the other. Here are five that stand out.

Toby Alderweireld vs. Mario Gotze

With the absence of Marco Reus, it’s expected that Mario Gotze fills his shoes playing in the number 10 role. A position he’s familiar with, Gotze shouldn’t have any trouble on the technical side of the game. The trouble with Gotze recently has been to do with his mental game. Devoid of confidence after a couple of inconsistent years in and out of the team, Gotze has slowly started to find his feet again this season, scoring goals and starting to influence the team again.

He’ll have to be at his absolute best, and may even need to take a leaf out of friend and colleague Reus’s book. Reus has never allowed injuries to hamper his performance, and is arguably having his best season this year. Gotze will have to play with supreme confidence in order to have the same sort of impact on the team.

His linkup play will be key, and has already shown he has a near telepathic understanding with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Paco Alcacer and Raphael Guerreiro. Physically, Gotze won’t really have a chance against Toby Alderweireld, and so will need to use his movement off the ball and skills on it to cause the Tottenham defense problems.

Danny Rose vs. Jadon Sancho or Raphael Guerreiro

Another player brought in from the cold this season is Danny Rose. With a serious injury to Ben Davies, and absolutely no investment in the transfer market, Rose was shoehorned into the team despite being well below his optimal fitness levels. He’s thrived, but sparingly. Mauricio Pochettino has been cautious in his use of Rose this season, fearing that another injury may be costly. But every game Rose has featured in recently, he’s had an impact in.

Rose’s attacking prowess has never been in question, but up against Jadon Sancho, Rose will face a big defensive examination. Sancho has started most matches on the right this season, switching flanks with Raphael Guerreiro midway through matches. Sancho has the pace and trickery of a freestyle player and could push Rose to his absolute limit. Sancho’s end product is also impressive, with six goals and nine assists in the Bundesliga already. Up against Rose, a player not known for his defensive discipline, Sancho will really fancy his chances.

Should Guerreiro start on the right flank instead, Rose will be forced into a completely different test. Guerreiro doesn’t have the pace of Sancho, but his movement off the ball and technical ability on it are top class. Any free space around the box, and Guerreiro will have the opportunity to smack one toward goal. Rose should be wary. He’s in for a long night.

Heung-min Son vs. Abdou Diallo

Heung-min Son has been Tottenham’s savior this season in the absence of key men Harry Kane and Dele Alli. Son has been consistently good for more than a season now, and his end product is constantly improving. Up against a makeshift Dortmund backline, he’ll be a real threat.

With both Dan Axel Zagadou and Manuel Akanji out injured, coupled with niggles to Omer Toprak and new signing Leonardo Balerdi, Favre has had to resort to playing Julian Weigl alongside Abdou Diallo.

Borussia Dortmund are short of options at center-back, and Diallo will thus be tasked with keeping Son in check. Diallo has been an excellent signing for Dortmund this season so far, partnering both Zagadou and Akanji with ease. His ability to play the ball out with his feet without compromising his defensive duties has made him an all-round perfect defender for Favre’s team. He has pace to keep up with the likes of Son, but will undoubtedly have his hands full against the Korean.

Spurs are distinctly dependent on a few players in the final third of the pitch, and with Christian Eriksen supplying the ammunition, it will invariably be Son pulling the trigger. Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura have both been patchy this season, and should be a relatively easier challenge, but with Son on hand, Diallo will have to be at the top of his game.

Lucas Moura vs. Achraf Hakimi

The aforementioned Moura started the season as Tottenham’s main attacking threat, but has fallen off in a big way since. He needs to rediscover his goalscoring form sooner rather than later, but up against a confident and brave Hakimi, Moura’s going to face a real challenge.

Hakimi has not only been a danger up front with his gazelle-like running, he’s also extremely solid at the back. With pace to burn, and versatility to play on the left or the right of the defense, Hakimi is starting to establish himself as one of the best full-backs in the game. In transition, Hakimi will pose a huge threat to Tottenham’s backline, and Moura will need to be disciplined in his tracking back in order to nullify Hakimi’s threat.

Dortmund have shown in recent weeks that their defense can be got at and with Hakimi marauding down the pitch, it could be this flank that Tottenham use to find their way to the goal. Moura’s form has been inconsistent, but the talent and threat still exists. If he starts the game well, the confidence he gets from that could go far in determining how well he performs on the evening.

Harry Winks vs. Axel Witsel

Harry Winks has by far been one of Tottenham’s most important and most underrated players this season. With the lack of central midfield options for Pochettino due to injury, Winks has been a mainstay in the Tottenham side this year.

It was against Dortmund and Real Madrid last year in the Champions League when Winks’ talent really came to the forefront. His performances in the middle of the park against the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos made everyone sit up and notice.

This year, his energy and intelligence have continued to improve, and he’s arguably Tottenham’s most important player in the center of the park right now, a player whose recycling of possession allows Tottenham to be the threat they are on the counter.

Coming up against another player who has made an instant impact on his team, Axel Witsel, Winks will have his hands full. Both teams will be dependent on these two players to establish a degree of control in the game. Witsel has easily been Dortmund’s signing of the year already, bringing a calm head to the middle of the pack, slowly but surely recycling possession and picking out key passes from the center of the park.

It’s Belgium vs. England again so soon after the World Cup, and the victor between these two will undoubtedly be the biggest factor in establishing where the tie goes.