Big Match Breakdown: Tottenham v Barcelona

Eric Dier could slot in at the back or in midfield, while Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura have a big night ahead of them in support of Harry Kane. Erik Lamela could feature too.

As for Barca, Messi will be back after starting on the bench against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend. Ernesto Valverde is likely to begin with a Messi-Suarez-Dembele top three.

Sergio Busquets will hold the midfield together, while Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic look to pick out the forwards. Samuel Umtiti is expected to be Barca’s only absentee tonight.

Key Battles

This is a huge night for Spurs. Lose and they’ll be facing a huge uphill struggle. But without Eriksen and Alli, they’re without two men who can change the tide.

So they must find a way to stop Coutinho, Busquets and Rakitic dictating the play. Winks and Wanyama will have to put in a shift and they may have to be patient tonight.

Up front, Son and Moura have the skill and pace to hustle Gerard Pique’s defence on the counter, but Spurs’ own back-line must keep tabs on Messi, Suarez and Dembele. Each of them can win a game in an instant.

Match Odds

Tottenham’s injury list has really hurt their odds. They’re the 27/10 outsiders, with Barcelona odds-on at 10/11 despite their recent wobbly run. A draw is 11/4.

It’s hard to envisage Barca not scoring tonight. Which means Spurs are likely to need to score twice if they are to win. They’re 19/4 to win and both teams to score, while a 2-1 home success is 11/1.

A 2-0 Barca victory is 10/1, while Messi is 16/5 favourite to score first. The Argentine magician is 19/20 anytime, and 14/5 for two goals or more.

Suarez loves a goal against Spurs though, doing so four times in his last three games against them. The former Liverpool man is 4/1 first goalscorer and 13/10 anytime.

Kane is Tottenham’s most likely scorer. The Englishman is 4/1 first and 6/5 anytime.

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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing