Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has surprisingly said that Tottenham would be happy to take a draw as he predicts the club’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan on Tuesday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men head into the European encounter off the back of two successive defeats to Watford and then Liverpool, and will be hoping to bounce back on the continental stage.
However, voicing concerns about the squad’s confidence, Nicholas insists the Lilywhites would be satisfied with a decent performance, even if it means missing out on the full three points.
Predicting a 1-1 draw between the sides in Italy, he told Sky Sports: “I think Inter Milan are a club on the up, whereas Tottenham’s reputation at the moment is getting a bit tarnished and suddenly, you are going from Premier League contenders to danger signs about a lack of investment.
“Two weeks ago, I would have put a banker on Spurs winning this but now there is an uncertainty. They have good players and I think they are a better team than Inter but they are a bit timid at the moment, confidence is low so I am going for 1-1.
“Spurs are in a one-game-at-a-time situation right now and if they walked away with a draw and a better performance, I think they will be content with that.”
Opinion
Nicholas might think that Pochettino and his men would be satisfied with a point from the San Siro but there is no way they are thinking about anything but the win on Tuesday. They really need something to boost their confidence and a victory away in the Champions League would get their campaign back on track, as they look to improve their Premier League performances. A draw would make it three games without a win and at that point the pressure will start to build and it will all be about getting that monkey off their back. Tottenham do have some very winnable fixtures coming up over the next couple of weeks, starting with a trip to Brighton this coming weekend, but as the English top flight has shown so often throughout the years, any game can be a banana skin, and if confidence is flagging then it only increases the chances of an upset.