English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur are set for a huge test as they take on Italian champions Juventus in the International Champions Cup match at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia on Tuesday. Fans are expected to pour out in numbers, with some big names like Miralem Pjanic, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen among others set to feature during the contest.
Though the competition might be of a friendly nature, both teams will be eager to emerge victorious as wins against such quality teams in the competition will mean a lot ahead of their respective domestic competitions. Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino is using these matches to help get his players in perfect shape before their first game in the EPL against Everton.
"The most important thing for next few games is to improve in our philosophy and . I think it's very important for us to arrive in a better condition the start of the season (for) Everton in August," Fox Sports Australia quoted Pochettino as saying.
It will be interesting to note the kind of approach Tottenham would take during the game, as they love to play possession-based football, and also use pace to exploit their opponents. However, Juventus are a different breed altogether, and will not give an inch to any of the Spurs players to roam around.
Juventus, who are one of the best defensive teams in the world, have a technician in the form of Massimiliano Allegri, and his plans are normally spot on as well. Juventus will be keen to put up a better showing than they did against Melbourne Victory, though, they defeated them in penalties. The manager also spoke about the formation for the match.
"Benatia is going to play as well as Pjanic and [Roberto] Pereyra. Probably we are going to play with four defenders with either a young player or Alex Sandro at right-back. It is an important test. We will use it to test our condition. We will then finish our training season for the summer in Hong Kong. Tomorrow is going to be a very different game. There is going to be more intensity," International Champions Cup official website quoted Allegri as saying.
"I am going to try and play the players who played the first half of the last game more, even though it was only the first match. We are not sure if they are in the ideal condition to play a full match."
Where to Watch Live
Juventus vs Tottenham Hotspur is scheduled for a 7 p.m. local time (2.30 p.m. IST, 11 a.m. CET, 10 a.m. BST, 5 a.m. ET) start. Below are the live streaming and TV information.
India: TV: Sony ESPN/HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
Australia: TV: Channel 9. Live Streaming: 9now.
Italy: TV: Premium Sport 2.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1/HD. Live streaming: Sky Go.
USA: TV: ESPN 3 and ESPN Deportes. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
China: TV: Guangdong Sports and LeTV.
