PREVIEW: Tottenham Hotspurs vs Juventus…predictions, match developments, lineups, stopping Kane and Higuain and much more

Tottenham Hotspurs vs Juventus in a past match. [Photo: Courtesy]

On-form Tottenham Hotspurs welcomes Serie A giants Juventus to Wembley Stadium for a showdown of second leg round 16 of Uefa Champions League on Wednesday night.

 The London team have one foot into the quarterfinals courtesy of the away goals that Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen scored in 2-2 draw in Turin. The duo cancelled out Gonzalo Higuain’s double after which the Argentine lost a penalty that would have dented the hopes of Londoners in the first leg.

Mauricio Pochettino has no problems going into this match given that he has so far received injury boost after Victor Wanyama’s return.

Juventus on the other hand may miss the services of Mario Manzukic who may find this fixture too early to play in. However, Gonzalo Higuain is back in contention for the lineup nad could feature alongside Paulo Dybala who sat out the first leg of the encounter.

Speaking before the match to the British press, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has hinted a partnership of the Argentine, Dybala and Higuain to light up the Wembley stadium.

“Although Higuain has been training separately for a while, he's trained with the team for the last two days. As for Dybala, he recovered well from his first game back against Lazio at the weekend, he's a young man, 24 years old,” Allegri told the DailyMail.

Blaise Matuidi and Douglas Costa who were doubts are also available for selection ahead of the Wembley showdown.

Tactical: Tottenham is likely to field with a 4-3-3 system as they seek to match the power that will be imposed by Matuidi, Khedira and Pjanic in the midfield as Kane, Eriksen and Alli pull strings upfront. Juventus likewise will also likely go with a 4-3-3, where the trio of Khedira, Matuidi and Pjanic will team up with Douglas Costa, Gonzalo Higuain and Dybala upfront to kill the Londoners. The trio in midfield may be tasked with marking Eriksen and Kane out of the game to reduce that sting.

Predictions: Tottenham have an upper hand in this match and may qualify with just a draw except it be of 3-3 score line. However, they are vulnerable at Wembley especially with big matches.

Tottenham Probable lineup:Lloris; Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele; Son, Alli, Eriksen; Kane

Juventus Probable Lineup: Buffon; Lichsteiner, Benatia, Chiellini, Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic, Matuidi; Costa, Dybala, Higuain

Verdict: Both teams will likely score in this match (GG). Nonetheless, Tottenham Hotspurs have the capability to beat the Italian giants.