Tottenham manager Mauricio Pocehttino has revealed he expects his side to struggle scoring goals against Juventus when they clash in the Champions League.
Pochettino has states it will be “difficult” trying to break down a side that have recorded a staggering 15 clean sheets in their last 16 games across all competitions.
Spurs have travelled to Turin and face the Italian giants in the first leg of their last 16 clash on Tuesday night, with the return fixture at Wembley on 7 March.
Juventus have some incredible options in defence, with Gianluigi Buffon and Wojciech Szczesny battling for the goalkeeper position.
Meanwhile, centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, Mehdi Benatia and Andrea Barzagli can be deployed in the heart of defence.
Stephan Lichtsteiner and Alex Sandro are the most familiar full-back pairing, who help make up a formidable backline.
Spurs do have one of the most prolific goalscorer in the world to try unlock the Juventus defence and Harry Kane has netted 32 goals in 33 games across all competitions this season.
Pochettino is expecting a very difficult test in their midweek European fixture and feels trying to break down their opponents in the final third will be a major problem.
“Scoring goals will be difficult against a team so touch to score against,” Pochettino said, as quoted by Football London. “We may have challenges ahead tomorrow but it’s important to continue as we have.
“Tomorrow we need to play with freedom and clear ideas. But always football is to be responsible.”
OPINION
Spurs know the challenge facing them when they travel to Juventus, but if they get an away goal in Italy they can feel confident of progressing through the tie. The likes of Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen have the quality to rip apart any defence no matter how good they are. Pochettino’s side first and foremost must be defensively resilient to stay in the two legged match, but could cause a lot of damage on Tuesday night. Spurs managed to beat Real Madrid in the group stages this campaign and must use that as an incentive when they put themselves up against giants Juventus.