After playing to a 0-0 draw in Germany last week against Eintracht Frankfurt, Antonio Conte will expect Tottenham to take care of business at home when the Europa League champs visit for Champions League Matchday 4 on Wednesday. To fix some of their woes, Conte swapped to a 3-5-2 introducing Yves Bissouma for Richarlison in the Premier League which led to a 1-0 victory over Brighton, and it would make sense to have that same setup at home to control against a counter-attacking Frankfurt team.
In a 3-4-3, Frankfurt’s strong wing play from Daichi Kamada and Jesper Lindstrom could be able to find space between the wing-backs and center backs. With Spurs and Frankfurt level on four points, the winner of the match would enter a good position to qualify for the knockout rounds, making it even more important of a match as each team has a win, a loss and a draw in their Group D fixtures so far.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Oct. 12 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
- TV: None | Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Tottenham -200; Draw +340; Frankfurt +525 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Tottenham Hotspur vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Storylines
Tottenham: Conte had a bit of worry after Harry Kane left the Brighton match with an ankle injury, but he’ll be fit to start the match after his examination revealed no swelling in the ankle. Dejan Kulusevski could also return to the squad from his thigh injury that he picked up with Sweden, but after not appearing since September 17th for Spurs, Conte may start with him on the bench. At right back, while Matt Doherty started in the league due to Emerson Royal’s suspension, Conte will have a big decision to make on who gets the nod in the Champions League. Royal is the better defender while Doherty is the better attacker, but Doherty also seemed rusty against Brighton complicating things.
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Eintracht Frankfurt: Losing 3-0 to VFL Bochum in Bundesliga play over the weekend, Frankfurt may have a left-back problem as Ansgar Knauff picked up a hamstring injury while Luca Pellegrini also has a shoulder injury leaving Oliver Glasner with limited options. But Frankfurt has been a team that has found a way to get European results despite being a midtable Bundesliga side and that’s what they’ll be asked to do again in London.
Prediction
The balance of a 3-5-2 is hard to break down while giving Spurs just enough in attack to secure a victory via a Ricahrlison winner off the bench. Pick: Spurs 1, Frankfurt 0
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