Notebook – Spurs vs Sporting CP

Ahead of the match, here are all of the game’s key points of note…

1 – A point to prove

After a frustrating last seven days on the pitch, the players will feel they will have a point to prove against Sporting CP this evening. Having made our best-ever start to a Premier League campaign after 10 games, we have since suffered back-to-back defeats in the top flight with losses to Manchester United (0-2) and Newcastle (1-2) in the past week. In light of those disappointments, the team will be keen to put the record straight and get us back on track against our Portuguese visitors – and there is quite a prize on offer to us tonight.

2 – A win and through

This evening, we could book our place in the knockout stages of the Champions League. With seven points on the board from our first four games, we currently sit a point clear of Marseille and tonight’s opponents Sporting CP, and three points clear of fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.

With a win tonight, we would move onto 10 points with a game remaining and that result would see Sporting unable to catch us. A win would also see Eintracht unable to finish above us as, while they could match our points tally, our head-to-head record against the German side would see us pip them no matter how they perform in their remaining two games.

However, we will be hoping Eintracht can take all three points in their game against Marseille tonight as, if we also take victory, that would be enough for us to win Group D.

3 – Strength at home in Europe

When playing at home in the Champions League group stages, we usually pick up a positive result. Of our last 12 home games at this phase of the competition, we have won 10 of those matches, (L2) including each of our last four on the spin.

4 – Portuguese sides in N17

In fact, our impressive home form in Europe continues when looking at our matches in north London against Portuguese sides. Of our last seven such games, we have won six of them (L1) and that includes one just last season as we took on Pacos de Ferreira at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

5 – Sporting in England

While our record in European matches in north London is nigh on perfect, Sporting have seemingly struggled when visiting England. Of their last 15 trips across the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel, Sporting have won just twice (D4 L9) – and those wins were not in the Champions League, winning 4-2 at Southampton in October, 1981, and 3-2 at Middlesbrough in March, 2005.

6 – A goal glut

It is also worth noting that our recent outings in the Champions League group stages have been quite the goal fests. Since the start of the 2019/20 campaign, we have seen 41 goals scored across 10 games (23 for, 18 against) – an average of 4.1 goals per game. We also haven’t failed to score in a home Champions League group stage game since November, 2016 (a 1-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley). In games in N17 in the competition, we have never failed to score, a run of 14 games in which we’ve scored 40 goals.

7 – Crossing the line

So far this season in the Champions League, we are finding joy from crosses. In the competition this season, no side has scored more goals from crosses than us (three).