Germany global Hummels believes Dortmund are better served facing a tough opponent in their last-16 clash than breezing through an easy tie.
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His latest appearance was in the 3-0 victory over Serie A side Fiorentina in February, in addition to a solitary outing in the same competition a year ago.
Dortmund were also held to a 0-0 draw by Bayern Munich in the weekend and will be looking to take an important win in their home leg against the second placed side from England.
“I think we have a very tough game against Borussia Dortmund and I think the Europa League and Premier League are competitions that are our priority now because we have two competitions”.
“We have different plans for different players, we analyse the minutes they play and how they are”.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side aren’t going to be any light touch for the Bundesliga giants, for although BVB possess far more elite-level European experience than Spurs, the Londoners come into this fixture full of confidence in the midst of their best ever Premier League season.
“To be honest, it feels like a loss”, he said.
Still Tottenham’s record of having scored in seven of their last 10 European away games suggests that a home win with goals at both ends and +2.5 goals overall is good value at11/5 and 3/4. Every game from now until the end is like a cup final and we have to give everything, like we always do.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli’s suspension from the Europa League match against Borussia Dortmund could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the teenager who has had an outstanding debut season. It’s exciting for us to play against them.
Spurs are without Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie, who are still working on regaining fitness following knee injuries, but boast an otherwise strong squad to take to Germany.
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– Henrikh Mkhitaryan has created more chances in the Europa League than any other Dortmund player this season (20).
