1. Embrace the crowd
Tottenham’s Wembley experience hasn’t been all that pretty to date. Spurs only managed to win one of their home fixtures at Wembley in Champions League play. They’ll need to do much better in the Europa League to win silverware.
The whole thing got in the squad’s head during Champions League play. The players turned what should have been a terrific advantage into a an anvil hanging around their collective necks.
Hopefully, the win against CSKA Moscow, although meaningless in the Champions League table, meant something to dispel the Wembley Stadium hex. It will be interesting to see if Tottenham look as if they’re playing a lot more free this time around.
The mental approach to the match will be Pochettino’s biggest challenge today. He needs to convince his team that they should be buoyed by the throng of home fans. If they are, expect for Spurs to come out with one of their best performances of the season. If instead, they play timid and hesitant, they will crash out of European football for the season.