Juventus vs Tottenham: What time does it start, which TV channel can I watch it and what are the odds?
A look ahead to the Champions League fixture at the Juventus Stadium
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Tottenham Hotspur travel to Turin to face Juventus, last season’s runners-up, in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.
Spurs, fresh off the back of last weekend’s victory in the north London derby, will be looking to take the game to their Italian counterparts before the second leg at Wembley in three weeks’ time.
Mauricio Pochettino was full of praise for his squad after their victory against Arsenal but said he wants his players to be even “braver” against Juventus.
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What time does it start?
Juventus vs Tottenham kicks off at 7.45pm on Tuesday 13 February at the Juventus Stadium.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 2 from 7pm. Highlights will be shown at 10.45pm on ITV 1 on Wednesday night.
It’s a big game for…
Dele Alli. The 21-year-old has not enjoyed his best season at Spurs with only five Premier League goals so far.
Question marks are being raised about his recent form but it’s in games like these where the Alli can silence the doubters.
He scored twice in Spurs’ memorable victory against Real Madrid in November, and has three assists in his three Champions League appearances this campaign.
Weird stat…
1 in 16. Spurs might be heading to Italy buoyed by their domestic form but they’re taking on a Juventus team that has astonishingly conceded only one goal in their last 16 games in all competitions.
Remember when…
Spurs have never faced Juventus in a competitive clash but the sides came together in a friendly last summer as Kane and Eriksen goals helped Spurs to victory.
They will be hoping for the same scoreline this time around.
Player to watch…
Jan Vertonghen. A lot of the Belgian’s work goes unnoticed but with Toby Alderweireld missing through injury for much of this season, Vertonghen has become Spurs’ most valuable defender.
If Pochettino’s men are hoping to bring a good result back to London they are likely to need another good performance from their centre half.
Past meetings…
Juventus 2 Tottenham 1, International Champions Cup, July 2016
Tottenham 2 Juventus 0, Pre Season friendly, August 2017
Form guide…
Juventus: WWWWWW
Tottenham: WWDWDD
Odds…
Juventus to win: 19/20
Tottenham to win: 33/10
Draw: 43/20
Today is a good day. You know why? Because the Champions League is back!
A couple of round-of-16 ties get underway tonight, with Tottenham facing Juventus in Turin and Manchester City travelling to Switzerland to face Basel.
Here, our primary focus will be on Juventus vs Spurs, but we'll also be bringing you all of the important updates from Basel vs City.
Stay tuned for team news!
Spurs team news
This is the team Mauricio Pochettino has selected for tonight's huge game:
Some perhaps surprising team news that emerged earlier this week was that Toby Alderweireld would not be travelling to Turin for tonight's match.
The 29-year-old has only made one appearance for Spurs since returning from a serious hamstring injury that he picked up against Real Madrid in November.
Explaining the defender's omission yesterday, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “It was a massive injury that we needed to be cautious over because we cannot put at risk his career.
Toby Alderweireld misses out tonight as he continues his recovery from a long-term hamstring injury
“We designed a plan from day one to provide him the best route to recovery and be stronger than before.
“Of course we are sorry for him because when you miss some games like Arsenal or the Champions League that we have worked a lot to try to play... I can understand. And we are frustrated too, because when you cannot play it is difficult to accept. The player always thinks he is fit, but it is our responsibility to take the best decision."
Juventus team news
Here's the team Juve boss Max Allegri has gone with for tonight's big match:
Starting XI: Buffon; De Sciglio, Benatia, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic; Bernardeschi, Douglas Costa, Mandzukic; Higuain
Subs: Szczesny, Rugani, Asamoah, Marchisio, Bentancur, Sturaro, Muratore
Tottenham's players check out the pitch at the Juventus Stadium ahead of kick-off
Usually before every match I report on I will take a look at the head-to-head record between the two clubs but, in the case of Juventus and Spurs, the two clubs have never played each other competitively.
They did, however, play each other in a Wembley friendly back in August, with Spurs winning 2-0 courtesy of goals from Harry Kane (obviously) and Christian Eriksen.
I'd be willing to wager that Mauricio Pochettino would take a repeat of that result tonight.
Harry Kane scored the first of Spurs' two goals as they beat Juventus in a pre-season friendly in August last year
Seeing Erik Lamela's name on the Spurs team-sheet might've surprised a few fans and Mauricio Pochettino has explained why he's put his faith in the Argentine for such a big game.
"He knows what it means to play here against Juventus and we believe this experience will help the team," Pochettino said.
Lamela spent two seasons playing in Italy with Roma before his big-money move to north London in 2013.
Erik Lamela lines up for Spurs against Juventus
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