Barcelona vs Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham’s US Tour is off to a great start!
Mauricio Pochettino managed to get their first ICC 2018 victory over Eusebio Di Francesco’s strong Roma side despite not having all of his strongest players ready to suit up for the club due to World Cup responsibilities. They will be hoping that they can pull off the same result against a stronger side in Barcelona.
The La Liga champions will be coming to the American leg of the ICC without their best players as well, but it remains to be seen if their performance will also drop in their absence. For the players included in the lineup, this is a perfect chance for them to impress Ernesto Valverde and boost their chances of making it into the starting XI of one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
Both of these teams want to secure a victory at the Rose Bowl, but only one of them will see a rosy outlook at the end of 90 minutes. Which team will emerge victoriously?
Talking Points
Many US fans are upset with the fact that Lionel Messi and many Barcelona starters won’t be competing in the cup and please American fans with their fantastic brand of football. The Blaugrana will be expectedly weaker when they play Tottenham, but that does not mean that the North London side will be able to steamroll past the Spurs.
The squad that will make the trip to the States comprise mostly of graduates of the fabled La Masia. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet, Jasper Cillessen, Nelson Semedo, Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes, Arthur Melo and Lucas Digne are the men in the preseason squad that didn’t come up Barcelona’s youth system.
Ter Stegen is probably the only starter from the first team that will make the squad, but it is still uncertain if the Germany international will actually make the trip to Dallas, TX. If he does not make the trip, every single one of the players in the competition will be vying for the manager’s attention in the hopes of being in the same team with one of the best football players in the world.
The one fans should watch out for in the coming contest has to be Sergi Roberto. The 26-year-old has had a successful transition from the midfield to the defensive line as a right-back. While he is still far from being a complete right-back for Enrique’s system, the club hopes that his performance on this tournament will help him blossom into the player worthy of carrying the Barca crest.
However, his team has Spurs as their first opponents. Tottenham already had one of the best ICC 2018 results after their overwhelming victory over Roma the other day. Fernando Llorente and Christian Eriksen showed a lot of quality for the team with their dominance in the midfield and the final third.
Like Barcelona, they don’t have all of the strongest players in their preseason tour, since their key players were part of an England team that defied SBOBET predictions during the recently concluded World Cup.
Moreover, the Tottenham defence can also see this game as an audition for the centre-back position. Exasperated centre-back Toby Alderweireld wants out of the club and join the Red Devils at Old Trafford, so there will be a vacancy that many of the underused players can compete for.
History
It’s been a while since Tottenham were considered European powerhouses, so these two clubs haven’t met a lot of times on the international stage. The last time the two clubs met was in 1982 in the UEFA European Cup Winners Cup. Spurs drew their first match and lost the second one.
The last time the Catalans played on a football pitch, they won 1-0 against Real Sociedad in a season that was decided a few game days before the end of the season. However, they endured a shocking defeat to Levante after Emmanuel Boateng fired a hat-trick.
Meanwhile, Tottenham also had a rather interesting end to their Premier League season. Their last league match was a dramatic nine-goal classic against Leicester City. Harry Kane and Erik Lamela had their braces, and Christian Fuchs’ own goal got them over the Foxes. They also lost curiously to West Brom, now a Championship side.
What are the odds?
Given the quality of players Barcelona have, there are no questions as to why they are looked upon as favourites to win the match. The Asian Handicap market has Barcelona with a –0.25 handicap @ 2.16.
However, Tottenham’s red-hot start to their preseason tour, alongside the presence of a key midfielder in Eriksen, makes them a superb betting option. Tottenham have 2.77 odds on the 1X2 market.
There is a high chance for goals to come in this match, as Tottenham and Barcelona are both experimenting with their players. Over 3.25 Goals is at 2.16.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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