Tottenham vs PSV: TV, stream & preview

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has been catching up on House of Cards ahead of a crunch Champions League fixture which his side must surely win

This may only be Tottenham’s fourth match of six in the Champions League, but already there is a sense that this is a fixture of destiny for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

With just one point to their credit from three matches and fixtures against Inter and Barcelona to come, the London club surely cannot afford another slip against PSV and still hope to be in the knockout rounds of the Champions League come February.

Life has been made difficult for themselves by the 2-2 draw in Eindhoven a fortnight ago. They had worked a winning position before the dismissal of Hugo Lloris with 10 minutes left led to an equaliser from Luuk de Jong, which breathed life into the Dutch side’s hopes.

Nothing short of a win will do for either side to keep their last-16 hopes burning.

TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch

In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 2 and livestreamed on BT Sport Live.

Squads & Team News

Mauricio Pochettino does not have his problems to seek prior to this encounter, with an injury to Moussa Dembele pinning the Belgium international midfielder to the sidelines.

On top of that, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose, Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama are all missing due to problems, while Dele Alli is not fully fit after hamstring trouble.

Captain Hugo Lloris, meanwhile, will watch on from the stands after he was dismissed in the Netherlands a fortnight ago.

Possible Tottenham starting XI: Gazzaniga; Aurier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Walker-Peters; Winks, Sissoko; Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane

PSV have no selection problems of note prior to this encounter, with the exception being the continued absence of midfielder Ryan Thomas due to serious knee injury.

Possible PSV XI: Zoet; Dumfries, Schwaab, Viergever, Angelino; Hendrix, Pereiro, Rosario; Lozano, De Jong, Bergwijn

Betting & Match Odds

Tottenham are priced as strong 4/11 favourites to win this game according to bet 365, while a draw is available at 9/2. The odds on a PSV upset are 8/1.

Match Preview

With a stadium long overdue, a Champions League campaign in the balance after only three matches and speculation over his own future, it would be tempting to think that it would be difficult for Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino to relax.

However, in US drama series House of Cards, he has managed to find a distraction from the day job.

“We’re having a weird season but I look so happy because I’ve started the new season of House of Cards,” he said on Monday before the following day’s crunch fixture with PSV. “I watched three episodes. I’ve learned a lot from this series. I recommend it.”

Defeats against Barcelona and Inter have Spurs seeking a miracle to make it into the last 16, particularly as they were held to a 2-2 draw against the Dutch outfit a fortnight ago.

With White Hart Lane still in the midst of a redevelopment, Pochettino’s side will once again be playing at Wembley, where the state of the surface in their recent Premier League loss to Manchester City appeared wholly unsuitable for top-level football following a recent NFL game.

Although there were still patches of bare turf when Spurs trained on Monday, Pochettino insisted that it was “nothing to complain about”.

Counterpart Mark van Bommel, however, branded the state of the surface “outright disturbing” in an interview with De Telegraaf but was insistent that he would not use it as an excuse: “I don’t think they’re happy with it in England.”

His side have made a perfect start to their Eredivisie campaign, winning 11 matches from 11 while scoring an incredible 39 times and conceding only four.

Since they last played Spurs, however, their level has dipped. They struggled to a 2-1 victory against bottom side Groningen, while they edged Vitesse 1-0 at the weekend, despite their opponents playing with 10 men for 75 minutes of the match.

Van Bommel will expect that his young side have reserved their very best for this encounter, however.