UEFA Champions League: Tuesday, 8:00pm
Spurs boss Antonio Conte has a major headache ahead of Tuesday’s trip to the San Siro to face AC Milan.
The Italian, who returned to the dugout at Leicester after gallbladder surgery, has to work out his midfield against Milan.
Rodrigo Bentancur has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season. Yves Bissouma is also out, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is suspended.
Skipper Hugo Lloris is also missing, but it’s in central midfield where Eric Dier could find himself with Oliver Skipp for the Champions League round of 16 first leg.
Both Hojbjerg and Bentancur played in the 4-1 defeat at Leicester – a defeat Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini put down to “desire”.
It’s safe to say Spurs will have had a polite reminder about their attitude after taking Leicester too lightly after scoring first.
Expect a different mindset from Spurs in Italy and Conte will be keen to make sure his impressive record against Milan continues.
The former Juventus boss has won 10 of 14 games against the Rossoneri as coach and lost only once.
Spurs have won away in Marseille and kept a clean sheet in Frankfurt this season and they will face a Milan side, who have been on an awful run.
Friday’s 1-0 win over Torino ended a run of four straight defeats.
“It has been a difficult month, for us and the whole club,” said coach Stefano Pioli.
“We have to raise our game because the Champions League is more demanding and Tottenham is a strong team. It will be tough but it comes at the right time for us.
“It has been a difficult month, for us and the whole club.
“We have to raise our game because the Champions League is more demanding and Tottenham is a strong team. It will be tough but it comes at the right time for us.”
It’s a game in which neither side will approach with much confidence. Two home defeats to Inter (3-0) and Sassuolo (5-2) knocked the stuffing out of Pioli’s men.
They have won eight games from 11 at home, but they have been unable to keep clean sheets. In fact they have conceded 16 goals at home in those 11 games.
Olivier Giroud remains their main threat in attack with goals generally been on the agenda at the San Siro.
Seven of their last nine home games have gone over 2.5 goals and both teams’ attacks look stronger than the opposition’s defences at this time.
It’s difficult to make a strong case for Spurs, while Milan’s narrow win over Torino was hardly the convincing win they needed.
Goals look likely, with Milan hoping to capitalise on Spurs’ makeshift midfield, while Harry Kane, Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min will not have as quiet games as they did at the King Power Stadium.
Key stats
- Tottenham have kept a clean sheet in their last four matches against AC Milan in all competitions
- AC Milan have seen under 2.5 goals in their last four matches against Tottenham in all competitions
- Tottenham have lost three of their last six games in all competitions
- Prior to the 4-1 defeat at Leicester, Spurs had kept three consecutive clean sheets
- Friday’s win over Torino ended a run of four consecutive defeats for AC Milan
- Milan have won eight of their 11 Serie A home games this season
