SHARE
COPY LINK

FOOTBALL

Werder gunning for debutant Spurs

Werder Bremen will be looking to spoil Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League debut on Tuesday, as both sides try to make do without key injured players.

Werder gunning for debutant Spurs
Photo: DPA

Spurs are back among Europe football’s elite after a 48-year absence and travel to Bremen’s Weserstadion without England striker Jermain Defoe who has been ruled out for up to three months with ligament damage.

England defender Matthew Dawson is also missing with a medial ligament injury and both are expected to miss Tottenham’s entire Champions League group stage programme.

Bremen are without centre-back Per Mertesacker who fractured an eye-socket playing for Germany in a Euro 2012 qualifier last week. Brazilian defender Naldo and striker Claudio Pizarro may miss the game as they struggle to overcome knee injuries.

Even with defenders Mertesacker, and possibly Naldo out, Bremen can rely on their second-string defence as Sebastian Prödl und Petri Pasanen kept Bayern Munich’s star-studded attack at bay recently.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted he has concerns ahead of the game after playmaker Luka Modric limped out of the 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. But Redknapp also gave debuts to new signings midfielder Rafael van der Vaart and former Arsenal defender William Gallas who look set to play in Bremen.

In contrast, a patched-up Bremen side held defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich to a goalless draw at home on Saturday.

Bremen have new signings of their own in ex-Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre and Brazilian play-maker Wesley.

This will be Spurs’ first major European appearance since the 1961/62 season when they reached the semi-finals of the European Cup before losing to Benfica.

Bremen, by contrast, are back in the group stage after an absence of only 12 months, their failure to qualify last term halting a sequence of five consecutive appearances.

This is the first meeting between two teams who both qualified through the play-offs.

Bremen, third in the Bundesliga last term, defeated Sampdoria 5-4 on aggregate, winning 3-1 at home before losing the return 3-2 after extra time in Genoa.

Redknapp’s Tottenham, who finished fourth in the Premier League in 2009/10, also suffered a 3-2 away defeat in their play-off against Swiss side Young Boys, but bounced back with a 4-0 home victory in the second leg.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

SHOW COMMENTS