Tottenham Hotspur take on Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Pundit Martin Keown has told the Daily Mail that he thinks Danny Rose could end up being a key player for Tottenham Hotspur against Ajax tomorrow night.
Spurs are back in action once again on Tuesday night, hosting Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final having dumped Manchester City out in the quarter-finals.
Mauricio Pochettino saw his side lost 1-0 at home to West Ham United on Saturday though, giving Spurs the worst possible preparation for such a huge game.
Add in that Harry Kane is out injured and Son Heung-min is suspended, and it’s almost hard to see who will be the talisman leading the Spurs attack, with Fernando Llorente and Lucas Moura needing to step up.
Pochettino will be looking for ways to get at an Ajax side who have already eliminated Real Madrid and Juventus, and Martin Keown has one idea.
Keown has admitted that he is backing Ajax to knock Spurs out, but thinks Joel Veltman and Lasse Schone struggled with the pace of Federico Bernardeschi in the Juventus ties, urging Spurs to exploit that.
Keown thinks 28-year-old left back Rose could have a great game as a result, feeling he can get ‘a lot of joy’ out of running at Veltman and Schone, even if he has lost a yard of pace from a couple of years ago.
“Ajax are my favourites for the Champions League but if there is weakness that Tottenham can exploit it is on their right flank,” said Keown. “Joel Veltman, at right back, and winger Lasse Schone struggled for pace up against Federico Bernardeschi during their victory over Juventus in the quarter-finals. Danny Rose could have a lot of joy running at those two on Tuesday night,” he added.
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