adminPARIS. — The pressure is on Tottenham Hotspur to perform in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 soccer tie against Benfica today, while there are two enticing derbies on the cards elsewhere.This is a big week for Tim Sherwood’s Tottenham side as they look to bounce back from a thumping 4-0 defeat at Chelsea, the meeting with the Portuguese league leaders at White Hart Lane coming ahead of Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Spurs capitulated in the second half at Stamford Bridge and the defeat damaged their prospects of qualifying for next season’s Champions League while also turning up the pressure on their rookie manager.
It has been suggested that Tottenham will look to replace Sherwood with experienced Dutchman Louis van Gaal in the summer, but a good result against an in-form Benfica would help the current incumbent’s cause. “We have to keep showing huge character when we’ve lost in the way we have,” captain Michael Dawson, who suffered a hamstring injury during the Chelsea debacle, told the Tottenham website. — AFP.
Online Reporter