2022-23 UEFA Champions League knockout stage team preview: Tottenham
IN BRIEF
Manager: Antonio Conte
Group stage performance: 1st (WLDWDW - vs Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille)
UEFA Champions Leagues/European Cups: 0
Last season’s performance: DNQ
SO FAR...
It is a bit of a surprise that Tottenham Hotspur managed to come out on top in their UEFA Champions League group. Not because they were inferior to any of Eintracht Frankfurt, Olympique de Marseille or Sporting CP but because, as has been the case domestically, they were very underwhelming in terms of their performance level.
Tottenham qualified for the Last 16 on the final match day with a smash and grab 2-0 win away at Marseille with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sealing three points with a second-half stoppage-time stunner.
They had began the group stage with a more comfortable 2-0 win against the same opponents but managed just one other win in the campaign and that victory came in a 3-2 victory against Frankfurt at home when they had fallen behind early on.
Falling behind has been a major issue for Spurs throughout the campaign with Antonio Conte’s side rarely scoring the opening goal in a match. The reasons for this are never exact or precise but one suggestion could and would be that the so-called ‘automatisms’ in attack for Conte’s style of football lack of a fluency brought about by a simple lack of creativity in the personnel he has at his disposal.
Conte’s style, when effective and working, is to be direct and get the ball from defence to attack in as fewer touches as possible. This isn’t via a long-ball but via a fairly sophisticated collection of patterns of play that are co-ordinated in a manner that, when done efficiently, not many teams can deal with them in transition. For whatever reason, that style hasn’t worked at Tottenham.
WHAT ARE TOTTENHAM'S CHANCES IN THE KNOCKOUT STAGE?
Yet, despite their underwhelming performances, Tottenham have a winnable UEFA Champions League knockout tie against AC Milan and sit on the cusp of the top four in the Premier League. Far from a crisis in terms of actual results, Spurs are actually enjoying a reasonable campaign in all competitions with the FA Cup still to play for, too.
The form of Harry Kane is also something that will boost Tottenham’s hopes of going relatively deep into the tournament with the England captain enjoying his best season so far in the Premier League, in terms of his goals per game ratio.
Pedro Porro and Arnaud Danjuma were added in the transfer window and the arrival of Pedro Porro in particular will be crucial for Conte and Spurs with the Italian’s three-at-the-back system reliant on productive wing-backs on both sides.
ODDS TO WIN THE 2022-23 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 23/1
Odds used are the best at Oddschecker at the time of writing
