THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Last 16 continues on Wednesday evening. We asked Tom Love (@TomLove_18) to source the best bets from Tottenham's tie with Dortmund at Wembley.
Tottenham v Dortmund | Wednesday 13th February 2019, 20:00 | BT Sport
This is another mouthwatering Last 16 Champions League tie as Tottenham welcome Dortmund. The pair have met quite often in seasons gone by – both were in the same group in the Champions League last season, as well as meeting in the knockout stages of the Europa League in 2016.
Spurs will be frustrated that this tie comes too early for both Harry Kane and Dele Alli who may come back into contention for the away leg. They will, however, be delighted that Heung Min-Son has come back from the Asia Cup in excellent form and Mauricio Pochettino will be pinning his hopes on the South Korean, as well as Christian Eriksen to do the damage.
The North London outfit have carried on picking up points whilst not playing overly well, which is a highly desirable trait. They will be looking to go into the second leg with an advantage, but if they got a draw here it wouldn’t be a major disaster given they’re likely to have the big-hitters back for the trip to North-Rhine Westphalia.
Damaged Dortmund
It’s been a wonderful season to be a Dortmund fan and the Yellow Wall have been treated to some breathless encounters this term. BVB’s attacking roster could claim to be one of the continent’s elite; Jadon Sancho will obviously get a lot of the headlines and his pace, control and skill has been evident week-in, week-out.
He’s not the only cog in their attacking machine; Marco Reus remains a key player for Dortmund but he is injury prone and is unavailable for this clash – it’s a huge blow for the visitors. Striker Paco Alcacer is also out so Lucien Favre may have to play Mario Gotze as a false nine, whilst Manuel Akanji is a doubt for the trip to Wembley, as is Julian Weigl and Lukas Piszczek leaving them light at the back.
Goals the way in?
I think the prices in the Match Odds market are probably bang on so it’s not something I’m looking at. Alternatively, it’s pleasing to see Over 2.5 Goals being priced up at a backable 17/20 (William Hill).
Dortmund games this season are seeing a monstrous average of 3.70 goals per-game whereas Spurs games are slightly more conservative with an average of 3.00. Given those stats, I was expecting the goal line to be at 2.75 as a minimum, so to see a flat 2.5 being offered looks attractive.
Son to shine?
I’m a massive fan of Heung Min-Son and his record against Dortmund is phenomenal. Stretching back to his days at Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen it has remained a constant theme.
In the 10 games that he has played against BVB, he has been on the winning side on six occasions and has scored eight goals, including in each of his last three against the Germans. Ironically, he also scored for his national side against Germany at the World Cup.
Son is 21/10 to score anytime with Unibet and that’s a standout price. He’s as short as 11/10 elsewhere.
Best Bets
Tottenham v Dortmund – Over 2.5 Goals (17/20 William Hill)
Tottenham v Dortmund – Heung Min-Son to score at anytime (21/10 Unibet)
