da premier bet： Tottenham are back in the big time on Wednesday as they face Monaco at Wembley in their opening Champions League group game.
da supremo： Spurs will go on to face CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen in this season’s competition and Mauricio Pochettino will hope his young side are up to a challenge that some of them will not have faced before.
It seems weird to think such stars from last season like Dele Alli and Harry Kane haven’t played at this level before but that’s how it is and so there will be some doubts, however small, about how they and the rest of the squad can adjust to the rigours of being at Europe’s top table.
Even so, it is a group that Spurs will feel progression from is possible and with the prospect of having the backdrop of Wembley to make use of for their European fixtures they should be confident of building up some good momentum, starting with Monaco.
Spurs need to be on it from the first whistle and with this in mind, we think this trio in particular need to put in a good shift…
Harry Kane
Kane scored his first goal of the season against Stoke at the weekend so expect the floodgates to open now for the England international.
He’s never played at Champions League level but has the attributes to succeed and will surely relish playing some of Europe’s finest. Spurs still rely on him to score the majority of their goals and so another good performance is needed.
Victor Wanyama
With Moussa Dembele now free to play Wanyama needs to use the time he spends getting match fit wisely.
It’s more than likely that the former Southampton man will be the one to make way for Dembele so he needs to show why Mauricio Pochettino should give that second thoughts.
He’s settled into the Spurs side quickly and another good showing here could do him a huge favour going into the rest of the season.
Christian Eriksen
The Danish international has signed a contract extension so expect him to get back to his best. When he’s on top form he makes Spurs tick and that’s what they’re going to need up against European competition.
Make no mistake Monaco are a good side so will be tough to beat but if Eriksen hits the right notes Spurs should secure all three points at Wembley.