Tottenham Hotspur Vs Real Madrid: A 'Spur' For The Moment

Harry Redknapp: Will He And His Team Go Further In The Champions League?

Mauled. That is the word to describe Tottenham Hotspur from their last encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu. The visitors were left with 10 men as Peter crouch was sent off in just 15 minutes and Harry Redknapp was left scratching his head. While Real Madrid are on cloud nine with an advantage of 4 goals, the Lilywhites will have to come out with an idea or perhaps hope for a miracle to score at least 4 goals and concede none at White Hart Lane for this upcoming second leg. Will Spurs get through this mess and go on to the semi finals? It may look ridiculous, but impossible is nothing.

Tottenham Hotspur’s dream to go forward in the Champions League were cut off even before they entered the pitch last week as Aaron Lennon made a late call-off. “We lost Aaron Lennon a minute before kick-off, he didn’t feel well, just said he had no energy, no strength. We had to change the team just as we were leaving the dressing room”, said Redknapp disappointedly. Jermain Jenas became the immediate substitute for Lennon. Jenas proved to be a disappointment as he was defeated by Adebayor for the opener although, if you think back, he wasn’t suppose to mark Adebayor. Eventually, Peter Crouch got sent off in the first 15 minutes and the sky turned dark for the Lilywhites. Nevertheless, Crouch got his revenge on Stoke City as he scored a double at the Lane.

Harry Redknapp could grin for a moment as they won against Stoke. But to concede two goals in return means they might have a very weak defensive system and this might worry their boss. As we hope for Gareth Bale to make a change in the game last week, nothing came. It seems that Gareth Bale alone cannot defeat the Los Blancos. Perhaps Bale needs Lennon to make that change and we can hope that the duo may feature tomorrow night. Therefore, Spurs need to get moving even though they look vulnerable at times and despite having a disadvantage of 4-goals-until- equalising.

Kaka: Regaining Confidence

The visitors (Real Madrid) on the other hand have their 4-0 lead cushion and will look foward to slow things down a bit as they will have to face Barcelona next. The Los Blancos went for another win by beating Athletic Bilbao 3-0. Kaka, who was having another disappointed season at the Bernabeu, scored twice to give the fans confidence in him once more. The Brazil international has been sidelined for significant parts of the campaign due to injuries.

Expect a more different team from Madrid as Jose Mourinho will tend to rest most of the players ahead of the El Clasico. Despite being beaten 5-0 at the early stages of the season, Mourinho is simply not worried of Pep Guardiola’s men as they have proved they can once again be the most powerful team in the world with a good record of home wins this season and a nine year home win record for Mourinho (only to be cut by a simple win by Sporting Gijon). Players like Marcelo, Samir Khedira, Xabi Alonso, and maybe Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo might be rested.

Overall, the odds for Tottenham Hotspur to score 4-5 goals and go on to the semi finals seems unlikely as the Spanish Giants will look foward for another El Clasico in the semis as Barcelona had already mauled Shaktar Donestk. Harry Redknapp and his men will try to find ways to get into the top 4 for they need another taste of Champions League next season with Liverpool are catching up behind them. Here are the predicted line ups for this second leg clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid:

Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes, Assou Ekotto, Corluka, Dawson, Gallas, Modric, Sandro, Lennon, Bale, Van Der Vaart, Pavlyuchenko

Real Madrid: Casillas, Ramos, Albiol, Carvalho, Arbeloa, Kaka, Lassana Diarra, Angel Di Maria, Ronaldo, Ozil, Higuain