Tottenham Hotspur Newsdesk Live: Richarlison latest, Dortmund build-up, more

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Spurs Newsdesk Live: Richarlison latest, Dortmund build-up, more
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Join us LIVE throughout today for all of the latest Tottenham Hotspur news and speculation, as well as full build-up to tonight's Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Spurs have been hugely impressive in Europe so far this season and have already booked their place in the last 16 courtesy of their famous win over Real Madrid last time out. Another victory tonight could see them secure top spot ahead of the reigning European champions, while Dortmund need a win to keep any slim qualification hopes alive.

Tottenham will be going into the match off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in Saturday's North London derby, though, so will need to come up with a response at the Westfalenstadion.

10.59pmAnd on that note, that's where we leave things today. Thanks for joining us!

10.35pmMORE REASON TO CELEBRATE
Not only was it an important win, but it was also a milestone one for the ever-impressive Mauricio Pochettino. What a job he has done with the club.

10.32pmTOP DOGS
When the Champions League draw was made you would have got good odds on Tottenham topping their group, but they have done so with one game to spare. Real Madrid are also through but must settle for second place, whereas Borussia Dortmund are out.

10.26pmPOCHETTINO: 'REACTION WAS PERFECT'
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has talked up his side's reaction from their derby defeat to North London rivals Arsenal on Sunday, expressing his pride in the team following their 2-1 win at Borussia Dortmund.
"The managers have to accept criticism when we don't win because of course we are disappointed. The team stepped up and after Saturday we were ready to compete here in a difficult game against a difficult team and we are so proud," he told BT Sport.
"It is true that the first half was even. We didn't deserve to go 1-0 down. We talked at half time and the team reacted well. The early goal by Harry helped us to believe in our quality.
"The performance was very good. The squad is god and the reaction after Saturday was perfect."

10.05pmA NIGHT TO REMEMBER
This night may not live quite as long in the memory as Tottenham's win over Real Madrid, but it won't be far behind. Spurs are a force to be reckoned with in this season's competition.

10.03pmHUGO LLORIS DELIGHTED WITH TOTTENHAM RESPONSE
Granted, Borussia Dortmund are not in the best form at the moment, but Spurs showed real spirit to bounce back from their North London derby defeat to Arsenal and win at the Westfalenstadion tonight.
Here is what Hugo Lloris has had to say on the matter, speaking to BT Sport: "We knew they are not in their best form but this is Dortmund, one of the biggest clubs in Germany and they wanted to show their fans they could bounce back after defeat at the weekend. We can enjoy our final game against Apoel because it is a big achievement.
"It was important to bounce back after the derby defeat and now it is important to refresh our minds because the next few league games will be very important."

9.55pmHARRY KANE HAILS "UNBELIEVABLE NIGHT"
Is it time to start taking Tottenham seriously as Champions League contenders? They have beaten Dortmund home and away, drawn away to European champions Real Madrid and beaten them at Wembley, and now secured top spot in that group. Harry Kane is one happy man.
"It is massive, an unbelievable night for the fans and the club. Everyone was doubting us before the group even started that we would not even get through, so a fantastic night," the England international told BT Sport.
"It was a big goal, we knew if we could take one chance we would be right back in it. Delighted to see the goal go in and what a finish by Son Heung-min."
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9.45pmMATCH REPORT!
Click here to see our on-the-whistle match report as Tottenham Hotspur clinch top spot in the Group of Death with a game to spare.
Victory over Borussia Dortmund - courtesy of goals from Kane and Son - leaves them five points clear of Real Madrid and, with the group being decided by head-to-head record, that is now an unassailable lead.

9.44pmTOTTENHAM SECURE TOP SPOT IN GROUP H!

9.43pmFULL TIME: Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

9.19pmGOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Son Heung-min)
Tottenham's Champions League campaign just keeps getting better and better! They have taken the lead in Dortmund through Son, which could be enough to secure top spot for Mauricio Pochettino's side in the Group of Death!

8.57pmHarry Kane joins a couple of former Chelsea players in an exclusive club with that goal...

8.52pmGOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Harry Kane)
Kane continues his fine record in this season's Champions League with another goal, levelling things up against Borussia Dortmund! Dortmund's look like they're crashing out, with Real Madrid 5-0 ahead against APOEL.

8.26pmHere is that Borussia Dortmund goal in all its glory...

8.18pmGOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang)
There is the response Dortmund were after from Aubameyang! He slots the ball past Lloris following a flick from Yarmolenko to put the hosts one up against Tottenham.

7.45pmKICKOFF!
We're underway at the Westfalenstadion! A reminder you can follow live text coverage by clicking here.

7.34pmHe's been doing it in the Premier League for years, and now Harry Kane is beginning to show his very best form in Europe too...

7.25pmLIVE COVERAGE!
Our in-depth live text coverage of this match is already well underway, and you can follow it by clicking here.
Just 20 minutes until kickoff at the Westfalenstadion!

6.46pmBORUSSIA DORTMUND TEAM NEWS!
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is back in the Dortmund starting lineup after being dropped for ill-discipline at the weekend, leading the line for the hosts at the Westfalenstadion tonight.
DORTMUND STARTING XI: Burki;, Bartra, Zagadou, Toljan, Schmelzer; Gotze, Weigl, Kagawa, Guerreiro, Yarmolenko; Aubameyang

6.45pmROSE RETURNS FOR SPURS
Mauricio Pochettino has made four changes to the side which lost to Arsenal at the weekend in their North London derby, including switching his full-backs around as Trippier and Davies drop out to be replaced by Aurier and Rose.
Further forward there is a start for Harry Winks in the centre of midfield as Dembele drops back to the bench amid concerns over his ability to play twice in the space of four days, while Son Heung-min comes in for Moussa Sissoko.

6.34pmTOTTENHAM STARTING XI: Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Winks, Eriksen, Dele, Son; Kane
Subs: Vorm, Davies, Foyth, Trippier, Dembele, Sissoko, Llorente

6.34pmTEAM NEWS!
Here is your Tottenham starting XI to face Dortmund tonight - Aurier, Rose, Winks and Son all return!

6.27pmTEAM NEWS INCOMING!
We're edging ever closer to kickoff at the Westfalenstadion, and team news for tonight's game is not far away. We will bring it to you the moment we have it.

6.24pmPOCHETTINO GUNNING FOR TOP SPOT IN GROUP H
Tottenham have already surpassed most expectations in the Champions League this season, and beating Real Madrid at Wembley will live long in the memory for all who witnessed it.
Finishing top of a group which also includes Borussia Dortmund - who they face tonight - would be no mean feat either, and they could take a huge step towards it with victory at the Westfalenstadion tonight.

5.00pmGOTZE: BAD TIME TO FACE SPURS Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze has admitted that tonight's clash with Spurs has come at the wrong time as the side look to get their faltering season back on track. Peter Bosz's side suffered their fourth defeat in five Bundesliga games on Friday night with a 2-1 loss at Stuttgart and have just one win to their name in all competitions since the end of September - a domestic cup victory over a third-tier side more than a month ago. "We know we've got a tough schedule, but we're just taking things game by game," Gotze told the official Bundesliga website. "We know that we need to beat Tottenham, and of course Schalke, too. But we also know that we're not in the best of situations."

3.59pm"TRANSFER BLOW" FOR SPURS? Reported Spurs target Andre Gomes is said to be more likely to move to Italian champions Juventus when the transfer window re-opens in January. The Portuguese midfielder has found game time increasingly hard to come by at Camp Nou and was linked with a deadline-day loan switch to Spurs over the summer.
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According to reports in Spain, Gomes is desperate to get more game time in the second half of the season in a bid to bolster his World Cup chances and a move to Turin is the preferred option. Gomes's agent Jorge Mendes is said to be in talks with Juve over a possible transfer, which would be structured as an initial loan that is made permanent next summer. Tottenham's rivals Arsenal have also been linked with Gomes recently, with Barca said to be contemplating offering him as part of a swap deal for wantaway playmaker Mesut Ozil.

3.35pmSPURS OMEN? Tottenham's under-19s side have just pulled off a 3-1 win over Dortmund in the UEFA Youth League, guaranteeing them a spot in the next stage of the competition. All of the damage came in the first half, with goals from Armando Shashoua, Jaden Brown and Kazaiah Sterling - no relation to Raheem - enough to claim all three points. Over to you, seniors...

12.43pmWHITE HART LANE PROGRESS REPORT Good news for those with a concrete fetish now - it's time for a weekly look at how the new White Hart Lane is coming along. Phwoar, check out that scaffolding!

12.39pmPOCHETTINO "HAPPY" WITH LAMELA PROGRESS Mauricio Pochettino has said that he is pleased with the progress of Erik Lamela as he steps up his return from a long-term hip injury. The 25-year-old played an hour for the under-23s side in their 3-2 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League 2 on Saturday but is not expected to make an imminent return to the first team. "We are happy with him and now it's important to see what happens in the next few weeks," Poch told the Spurs website. "We hope he starts to feel better and better and then be available for selection for the first team." Lamela last turned out for the senior team in October 2016.

12.17pmLAMPARD: SPURS MUST WIN CL GROUP Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has said that it is "imperative" that Spurs do not take their foot off the gas in the Champions League if they want to make it beyond the next stage of the competition. Spurs have already qualified for the last 16 but are not yet guaranteed champions - and with the other four English sides all still in with a shot of winning their groups, rules mean that they would have high chances of being drawn to face Barcelona, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain. "Paris St Germain and Barcelona are surely going to go through in first place, so if Spurs do the same, they will take both those sides out of the equation for the next round," Lampard wrote in his column for the Evening Standard. "PSG look very strong and are probably joint favourites along with Manchester City at this point in time. And Barcelona are still a very good side and you do not want to face them early on. "[Spurs'] win over Madrid has put them in a strong position and they must not undo all the good work. Borussia Dortmund have not performed in Europe this season but still boast a good squad and the atmosphere will be intense. Tottenham need to attack the game in a positive manner."

11.56amERIKSEN: ARSENAL DEFEAT A "KNOCK ON THE HEAD" Christian Eriksen has backed his side to bounce back from their "knock on the head" in the North London derby defeat at Arsenal on Saturday in the Champions League tonight. The Gunners emerged victorious from the highly-charged encounter thanks to goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez, in the process sending Spurs 11 points behind Manchester City in the race for the title. Mauricio Pochettino's side have already qualified for the last-16 stage of the Champions League but midfielder Eriksen thinks that a morale-boosting win in Dortmund will prove that they have the mentality of future champions. "We went into the Arsenal game feeling confident and then, when you get a knock on the head, of course, you are going to lie down," he told the Evening Standard. "But I think what we showed so far in the games after is to play, to show we are better and to come back. That's what we have to do. "We are disappointed but there is a game every other day, so we have to play again. We've still shown in the big games that we can compete."

11.48amAUBAMEYANG FIT TO FACE SPURS Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Bosz has confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is back in the squad to face Spurs in Germany tonight. Last season's top scorer in the Bundesliga was dropped for the side's encounter with Stuttgart last weekend due to "disciplinary reasons", but Bosz has confirmed that the issue is now "finished" and the striker "will play" against already-qualified Spurs. "I told him he wouldn't play against Stuttgart, and afterwards I talked to him again and the team," he said. "He trained with the team [on Monday] and I told him he'd play. "I hope there's a reaction from Aubameyang. We talked about it, and [this] is his first game back from the disciplinary action. We talked about it, and from my point of view it's finished." Aubameyang has 10 goals in 11 Bundesliga games for Dortmund to date this season.

11.02amSPURS FACE COMPETITION FOR RICHARLISON
Richarlison has been one of the star finds of the season so far, scoring five Premier League goals in his 12 appearances since joining Watford from Fluminense during the summer.
Unsurprisingly, a 20-year-old Brazilian with such impressive stats has drawn interest from elsewhere despite having signed a five-year contract at Vicarage Road, and Tottenham are among those understood to be monitoring the situation.
However, Spurs could face competition from North London rivals Arsenal in addition to a number of Chinese Super League clubs, who see Richarlison as the type of up-and-coming player who could change the perception of the division.
The Hornets are unlikely to be willing to let their star man go in January though, and certainly not for cheap.
Find out more about that developing story by clicking here.

10.58amGOOD MORNING!
Welcome to Sports Mole's dedicated live blog for all things Spurs! Stick with us throughout today as we count down to tonight's Champions League trip to Borussia Dortmund, where Mauricio Pochettino's side could secure top spot in a pool dubbed the 'Group of Death' with one game still to spare.
A famous victory over Real Madrid last time out secured qualification for the last 16 and lifted Spurs three points clear of Real Madrid, which means that a win tonight could see them clinch first place, and at the very least would leave them needing just a point from their final game against APOEL to qualify as group winners.

We will bring you all the latest team news throughout the build-up to tonight's match, in addition to any transfer news and speculation as and when it arises.
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