2. Stefan Kiebling vs. Jan Vertonghen
Bayer Leverkusen fans should delight in the fact that Toby Alderweireld won’t be on the field to stifle their attack tonight. Instead, Stefan Kiebling will chiefly concern himself with beating Jan Vertonghen.
The Spurs centre back deserves a lot of credit for elevating his game in Alderweireld’s absence. He isn’t as good as his Belgian partner, but he’s performed like an above average Premier League centre back in his absence. That’s a solid step above the way he was playing with Alderweireld on the pitch.
Even so, Kiebling will fancy his chances to take advantage of Vertonghen. In particular, watch for the German centre forward to use his body to draw fouls from the Spurs defender. Tottenham’s defense could certainly be undone by a set piece.
Vertonghen simply needs to play a solid match to help Tottenham get a much-needed three points. He can’t allow himself to be goaded into silly fouls by the wily striker. The less Vertonghen is noticed on the evening, the better it will be for Spurs.