The Europa League last 16 draw was conducted earlier today, resulting in Tottenham Hotspur being paired with Borussia Dortmund.
Last night saw the round of 32 finish as the North London club breezed past Italian club Fiorentina 4-1 on aggregate, 3-0 on the night. Ryan Mason and Erik Lamela got on the scoresheet for Spurs while Gonzalo Rodriguez scored an own goal for the third. Dortmund beat FC Porto 3-0 on aggregate, 2-0 at home, 1-0 away.
Challenging but exciting fixture
When reading through the list of fixtures this is the one that stands out as the most exciting of the lot, so much so that you’d expect it to be a final.
The tie has the potential to be an excellent set of games as both teams are second in their respective domestic leagues and so in great form. Yet this also has its downfalls as both teams will have to play their utmost best in order to progress. The test will allow Tottenham to see how good they really are and push them to their limits as they look to compete in the Champions League next season.
Spurs minus Alli for away leg
Tottenham will be without Dele Alli for the first leg as he picked up a yellow card in both legs of the last round. Yesterday was penalized for diving while he received one in Florence for appearing to kick La Viola defender Nenad Tomovic.
The draw also produced a number of interesting fixtures as the competition begins to heat up. This included an all-English fixture between Manchester United and Liverpool and an all-Spanish tie as Valencia face Athletic Bilbao.
The ties will take place on the 10th and 17th of March, with Tottenham travelling to Westfalenstadion first before entertaining them at White Hart Lane.