Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Ledley King is confident that the club can beat RB Leipzig in the Champions League Round of 16, per BT Sport.
What’s the word?
Spurs were paired with the Bundesliga leaders in the knockout draw, avoiding the likes of Barcelona, PSG and Juventus.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea were all handed tough draws, having been pitted against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively.
Jose Mourinho’s men, then, appear to have had a fortunate draw, even though Leipzig have lost just twice in the Bundesliga this season, and lead the table by two points from Borussia Monchengladbach.
King, though, believes Spurs have what it takes to progress to the quarter-finals.
Watch Spurs vs Brighton Live and Free with Amazon Prime on Boxing Day
He said: “It’s going to be a tough task.
“They’re a good side and they play with a lot of pace and intensity. They’ve been a bit of a surprise package so far. It’ll be a tough game. You do not get much tougher than Bayern Munich (who Spurs played in the group stages).
“Going to Germany is tough, and Leipzig are a good side and one we won't be taking lightly. Having been a club that have been in the Champions League for the last five or six seasons, I'm hoping that we can use that experience to get through tasks like this against teams that are quite new to the tournament. I’m quite confident.
“The manager has been there and done that, and he has won the Champions League. His experience will rub off on the players and hopefully help them through.”
Who is that?! Can you name all of these obscure Spurs signings? Give it a go now...
Two managerial targets
Football FanCast sources confirmed that Spurs were very interested in appointing Julian Nagelsmann, the Leipzig boss, during the latter part of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure as manager.
They were unable to prise him away from the German side, though, with Nagelsmann only appointed in the summer and enjoying an excellent time at the club too.
As a result, they brought in Mourinho instead and he has overseen an improvement at the club, winning four out of his first five Premier League games.
This will be a match-up of experience against youth; Nagelsmann is currently the youngest manager in the knockout stages and Mourinho is 24 years older than the Leipzig boss.
King might be right that experience will see Spurs through but this could be seen as something of an audition for the former Leipzig boss; he will be desperate to win.
Meanwhile, Mourinho has delivered his verdict on Spurs' win over Wolves.