LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 10: Erik Lamela of Spurs celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Europa League Group J match between Tottenham Hotspur and AS Monaco at White Hart Lane on December 10, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Tottenham’s Champions League adventure begins as Monaco visit Wembley Stadium on Wednesday.
This will be the first such match Tottenham will participate in since failing to get past Real Madrid in the competition’s quarterfinals in April of 2011.
Understandably, it’s a massive occasion for the club in its followers. This is the moment club chairman Daniel Levy has been aiming for for half a decade. That it’s come to pass with such a promising young team as the one Mauricio Pochettino’s assembled is just icing on the cake. With any luck, matches such as Wednesday’s against Monaco will become commonplace in coming seasons.
Such long terms concerns won’t be on the mind of Pochettino come Wednesday however. The task before him is to win the first of six matches in the Champions League group stages. Monaco, as we’ve covered, represent the closest thing the group has to a “minnow,” though they will still make for a tough game.
Thankfully, Pochettino will be able to call upon virtually his entire first team for the occasion. Rotation of at least a couple spots in the starting XI is expected, but given Tottenham’s summer recruitment there shouldn’t be any discernible drop off in quality.
Let’s take a look at the three biggest plotlines to follow after the whistle blows on Wednesday’s match.
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 17: General view of the scoreboard during the Tottenham Hotspur training session at Wembley Stadium on August 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
The Wembley Effect
Ongoing construction to Tottenham’s new home means that White Hart Lane’s total capacity drops below acceptable minimums for Champions League games. To rectify that problem, the club successfully lobbied to play their home Champions League fixtures in London’s Wembley Stadium.
While Pochettino and his team might still want to plan in more familiar environs for such contentious games, there’s no denying that Wembley offers its own advantages. For one thing, the massive ground’s capacity of 90,000 means that more Tottenham fans can see their team play live, and create all the noise and commotion that comes with it. Initial estimates seem to suggest that more than 80,000 fans will be in attendance the opening match of the competition Wednesday.
Seeing as how Ligue 1 only averages just over 20,000 fans per match — and Monaco has fallen well below such averages — Wednesday’s massive crowd might prove to be a factor in Tottenham’s favor.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Erik Lamela of Tottenham Hotspur scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park on August 13, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Lamela’s Return
Over two legs in last seasons Europa League group stages, Tottenham notched six goals against Monaco — four of which were scored by Érik Lamela, including a hat-trick in the two sides’ match at White Hart Lane in December.
There’s not much evidence to suggest that a player is statistically more likely to score against one particular team, but it’s at least likely that Lamela will feel a bit of a confidence boost ahead of Wednesday’s match. That hat-trick game was arguably the best match of Lamela’s career at Tottenham, and the Argentine will be fresh after being rested for most of this past weekend’s match against Stoke.
Tactically speaking, Lamela will benefit from the likely inclusion of either Heung-min Son or Moussa Sissoko — more direct players who stretch play vertically and horizontally, thereby providing more room for those players, like Lamela, who need it.
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 20: Vincent Janssen of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane on August 20, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
Janssen on his own
The Monaco that Tottenham will face on Wednesday is a dramatically revamped side compared to the one that they played last season. Coach Leonardo Jardim relies on a organized, stout defense through the middle of the park, and the club’s recruitment of some exceptional attacking full-backs this summer make them more of a threat on the counter.
The man Tottenham will be relying on most to strip Monaco of at least the former improvement will likely be Vincent Janssen.
The Dutch striker’s only appearances thus far have all come alongside the man he’s due to replace Wednesday, Harry Kane. Tottenham’s two striker experiment hasn’t yielded the best results for either player, so it will be a potentially revealing outing if Janssen’s permitted to operate alone at the top of the formation.
If he can start to reproduce the form that allowed him to score the most goals in the Eredivisie last season, it could be a significant factor for Tottenham to overcome Monaco and earn their first points of the Champions League campaign.
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