BBC pundit Alan Shearer has said that Tottenham need to win their home leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Man City by two clear goals to stand a chance of progressing.
Writing in his column in the Sun, Shearer said, “But if anything should give them hope, it is their new home, which looks absolutely incredible.”
Shearer went on to say that the timing couldn’t have worked out better for Spurs, with a ‘practise’ game against Crystal Palace giving them a chance to get used to their new surroundings before the City game.
Shearer added, “In my mind, it will help the hosts far more than the visitors. And Spurs certainly stand a better chance of beating City here than if they were playing at Wembley.”
OPINION
Tottenham’s first game at the new stadium couldn’t have gone much better than it did. They scored two goals, secured the valuable three points and didn’t concede. That will give them a confidence boost ahead of the game on Tuesday night, when Harry Kane will be desperate to get on the scoresheet. He’s yet to get off the mark in Tottenham’s new home and he couldn’t pick a better match to do it than the Champions League quarter-final. You’d have to agree with Shearer, though. If Tottenham are to have a realistic chance of knocking Man City out, they’re going to need to score at least two goals at home and ideally keep Man City out. They’ll be hoping that Sergio Aguero isn’t passed fit – he returned to training today – but Pep Guardiola is blessed with goal scorers all over the pitch and it’s going to be hard to keep them quiet. Can Spurs progress? It’s possible but it would rank as a major upset if they put a halt to City’s quadruple bid over the next two weeks.