Preview: Tottenham hoping to secure first leg win over RB Leipzig

Tottenham will look to secure a first leg advantage when they take on RB Leipzig in their Champions League last-16 tie this evening.

Spurs made it through a tough qualifying group after finishing runners-up behind Bayern Munich in Group B and they managed to avoid the favourites in the fraw for the first round knockout stage.

However, Tottenham will still face an extremely tricky test against a dangerous Leipzig outfit who are battling it out with Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga table this season so they shouldn’t be underestimated. Spurs will certainly want to take a lead with them for the second leg on Germany.

Tottenham showed they can mix it with the best after reaching the final last season before losing to Liverpool but Jose Mourinho will be desperate to go one better this campaign.

The north Londoners warmed up for the game with a dramatic last gasp win over Aston Villa at the weekend to move up to fifth in the Premier League table but all focus will be on European matters this evening.

Team News

Tottenham will be without Hueng-min Son for the foreseeable future after he suffered a broken arm against Villa on Sunday. Harry Kane is also still out with a hamstring injury so Mourinho has limited options up front.

Lucas Moura is expected to start in the Spurs attack along with Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso but Erik Lamela is a doubt after missing the Villa game with a groin problem.

Moussa Sissoko remains out with a knee injury while Juan Foyth is also a major doubt after picking up a groin complaint last week.

Leipzig also have a number of problems to deal with as key defender Ibrahima Konaté and skipper Willi Orban are out through injury while Dayot Upamecano is suspended so they have no recognised centre-backs available.

Midfielder Tyler Adams has been ruled out due to a knock while Kevin Kampl is also out with a foot injury.

Betting odds

This is going to be an extremely interesting game between two evenly matched sides so it’s a tricky one to bet on. It would be easier to get a winning tip for the Grand National than predict the outcome of this tie, so be careful not to place too much of your hard earned money.

Looking at the odds, Tottenham are 7/5 to win the first leg this evening and those look tempting considering they’re at home and Mourinho has an excellent pedigree in the Champions League. Leipzig are available at 9/5 while the draw can be backed at 12/5.

However, Tottenham have serious problems in attack without Kane and Son but I have a feeling they may still do enough to secure a narrow first leg advantage. I predict a 2-1 Spurs win tonight, which is priced at 8/1 at the bookmakers.