Tottenham Hotspur may have defeated Red Star Belgrade 5-0 on matchday 3 in the Champions League, but they are about to walk into a fierce cauldron on Wednesday night at the Rajko Mitić Stadium.
Last season, Red Star Belgrade played poorly in the Champions League group stage away from home but thanks to their furious support, performed well at home. Red Star Belgrade famously defeated eventual Champions League winners Liverpool at home 2-0.
Tottenham Hotspur head to eastern Europe amid turmoil at the club. Spurs continue to struggle on the domestic front. Mauricio Pochettino’s team is winless in their last four league matches with three of those ending in draws.
Spurs’ defence has been poor this season which is very unlike Pochettino’s previous teams. Tottenham Hotspur have conceded 25 goals in all competitions and allow 1.67 goals per game. Part of the reason the defence has been poor is the season-ending injury to goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Attentions turn to Belgrade. 🇷🇸 ✨ Our @ChampionsLeague campaign continues tomorrow...#UCL ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/c9fjxInQej— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 5, 2019
Attentions turn to Belgrade. 🇷🇸 ✨ Our @ChampionsLeague campaign continues tomorrow...#UCL ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/c9fjxInQej
Still, Tottenham Hotspur should have enough to keep teams out of goal. Their last two league matches saw Liverpool and Everton tally second-half goals to sink their hopes of a win.
Red Star Belgrade may have suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Spurs on Champions League matchday 3, but they will feel confident of getting something out of Wednesday night’s fixture.
Vladan Milojević’s team has won eight of their last nine matches. The loss to Tottenham Hotspur was Red Star Belgrade’s only recent blemish. The Serbians are just one point behind Spurs after three group stage matches.
If Red Star Belgrade can win at home, or even draw, it will put immense pressure on Pochettino’s team for the remainder of the group stage. Bayern Munich are running away with Group B and the battle for second place is tight. A win for Tottenham Hotspur would give them some breathing space, however.
Making Tottenham Hotspur’s task on Wednesday night even more difficult could be the absence of Harry Kane. The striker is suffering from an illness and did not play against Everton on Sunday.
Defender Jan Vertonghen could also miss out due to a thigh injury. Danny Rose was suspended at the weekend but will most likely return to the left-back position for Spurs.
Can Tottenham Hotspur overturn their recent form and claim a victory away in hostile territory? Spurs do have enough attacking weapons to win away and should edge Red Star Belgrade in a close game.
The two sides should both score with over 2.5 goals going into the back of the net. Spurs will edge the Serbians and do what Liverpool could not 12 months ago.