Champions League preview: Will Son continue record against familiar foes Dortmund?

Everything’s coming up Milhouse as far as Tottenham ahead of their welcome of Borussia Dortmund. Of course, Mauricio Pochettino is without Harry Kane and Dele Alli for their Champions League clash, but Dortmund have a number of key absences for their trip to Wembley. Lukasz Piszczek, Paco Alcacer, Julian Weigl and, crucially, Marco Reus will all sit out Wednesday’s meeting, which should spur the home side on. 

Prior to the winter break, Dortmund looked unstoppable, but a three-match winless run and injuries to key personnel means Spurs will undoubtedly fancy their chances of claiming a first leg advantage at Wembley. A repeat of last season’s 3-1 win may be unlikely, but having done the double over Dortmund in their Champions League group last term, Pochettino will hope Dortmund’s injury woes will see Spurs continue their good form against their Bundesliga counterparts. 

Of course, Dortmund aren’t exactly a side devoid of quality, even with the absences of Reus and Alcacer. There’s a solid midfield foundation in Thomas Delaney and Axel Witsel to that allows the full-backs to push on, with Mahmoud Dahoud a handy stand in. Achraf Hakimi is set to move to right-back to deputise for Piszczek, which should see Rapahel Guerreiro start at left-back, but the focus of everyone’s attention is expected to be Jadon Sancho and unsurprisingly so. 

The teenage winger earned his third WhoScored man of the match award from his last six league appearances in Dortmund’s 3-3 draw with Hoffenheim at the weekend. Having netted his seventh Bundesliga goal of the campaign in the stalemate to go with his nine assists, Sancho has rightly been pinpointed as Dortmund’s primary attacking threat on Wednesday night. He may have just one goal and one assist in the Champions League, yet as one of the in-form players in Europe’s top five leagues at present, Spurs will need to keep their wits about them to keep the teenager at bay. 

In the absence of natural left-backs Ben Davies and Danny Rose, we could see Jan Vertonghen line up at left-back to nullify Sancho’s threat and while the Belgian is an adept defender, the 31-year-old will have his hands full if he is required to keep Sancho at bay. On the other side of the coin, though, Spurs can at least call upon Son Heung-Min, with the South Korean exceptional of late. 

With Kane and Alli out, Son has stepped up to the mark with aplomb and following a prolonged rest, has shown his best form. He has had a direct hand in 15 goals in his last 10 Spurs appearances and has scored more goals against Dortmund (8) than any other team in his career. Starting prominently as a striker this season, Son has very much taken the opportunity to become one of the first names on Pochettino’s team sheet. 

What Spurs need now, though, if for Son to transfer that great domestic form to the Champions League, just as Dortmund need Sancho to do the same. Their respective WhoScored ratings in the competition is 6.51 and 6.52, so both Spurs and Dortmund have every right to demand more in the Champions League from their current star performers. The stage is perfectly set, however, for both attackers to put in a match winning display to give their side a first leg advantage under the Wembley floodlights on Wednesday night.