Tottenham are looking to reach the Champions League final for the first time in their history.
Spurs take on Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie at their new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday knowing they have a great opportunity to reach the final (Spurs 9/2- Champions League outright).
The Lilywhites are slight favourites to win the first leg but they should not underestimate the men from Amsterdam (Match Betting – Spurs 8/5, Draw 12/5, Ajax 19/11).
Ajax’s win over Juventus in the quarter-final was no fluke, and they have gathered together an impressive squad who are playing at the best of their abilities before facing the inevitable break up in the summer as Europe’s elite take their pick of the players.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men go into the game on the back of a disappointing home defeat, their first in their new ground, to West Ham on Saturday where they were nowhere close to the standards they will need to be on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Dutch FA postponed the whole round of Eredivisie fixtures in an effort to give their side the best possible opportunity of reaching the final of the competition they have already won four times, three in a row from 1971-73 and in 1995.
Tottenham go into the game with injury problems and will be without star striker Harry Kane, while Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks are both continuing with their recoveries from respective groin injuries and are both rated as doubts.
Jan Vertonghen missed the defeat to the Hammers due to fatigue but is set to return on Tuesday.
Pochettino was asked whether the trio could be fit to face Ajax at home in Tuesday’s first leg tie.
“Vertonghen for sure, Sissoko, I don’t know we will have to assess tomorrow. I think Harry Winks no,” he said.
Odds subject to change.
