The 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stages end on Tuesday and Wednesday night this week. Some groups have already been decided whereas others have yet to be confirmed and one such group involves Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, who meet at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
As it stands, Barcelona are top of Champions League Group B with 13 points from five games played. Tottenham Hotspur sit second with 7 points and Inter Milan are third, also on 7 points. With Inter Milan hosting PSV Eindhoven and expected to win, Tottenham Hotspur must do the same in Barcelona to qualify.
However, Barcelona have a fantastic home record and come into this match on the back of a good 4-0 win in the derby against Espanyol on Saturday night. That result saw Barcelona move 3 points clear of second place Sevilla in La Liga.
Barcelona have won five of their last six home matches in all competitions. Their only home defeat this season came at the hands of Real Betis in La Liga. Trends show that was Barcelona’s only defeat in their last forty home games, which is a fantastic record.
In the Champions league, you must go back to the semi-final match against Bayern Munich in 2013 to find the last time they lost a game at home. Since the 0-0 draw with Juventus in 2017, Barcelona have won all seven of their home games, scoring 3 or more goals on five occasions plus keeping five clean sheets.
Tottenham kept themselves in contention at the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win at Leicester City on Saturday. It was their eighth win in nine matches, with the only defeat coming against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team have been scoring plenty of goals and trends show they have netted 2 or more goals in seven of their last nine matches in all competitions.
Champions League form is not as good and Tottenham Hotspur have won their last two games against PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan but trends show they are their only two victories in their last seven Champions League matches.
Away from home, Tottenham Hotspur have won only two of their last eight Champions league games and none of their last three. They have been held by Juventus and PSV Eindhoven plus defeated by Inter Milan.
Looking ahead to the team news and this could be the most crucial aspect of the game. Barcelona will win the group, whatever happens in the match and Ernesto Valverde could rest some key players including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Malcolm, Samuel Umtiti, Arthur, Rafinha and Sergi Roberto are injured.
Tottenham Hotspur started with Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen on the bench on the weekend and both will return to the starting XI this match. Davinson Sanchez and Moussa Dembele will definitely miss out but Kieran Trippier and Erik Lamela could return to the squad.
Tottenham Hotspur fans will be hoping Barcelona select a weakened team for this game but even if they do, the visitors are going to be up against it. Rarely do teams come away from the Camp Nou with a win and Tottenham Hotspur may score but defeat is more likely than a win.