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Tottenham will take on Real Madrid without key starter

By Rucker Haringey

HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his sides second goal with Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Tottenham Hotspur at John Smith's Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his sides second goal with Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Tottenham Hotspur at John Smith's Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /
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Ben Davies will be a big miss for Tottenham

Barring a surprising recovery from illness, Ben Davies won’t be making the trip with Tottenham to Real Madrid. His absence from Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI will be a massive concern for Spurs heading into the massive Champions League fixture.

While a quick recovery from Davies isn’t entirely out of the question, Pochettino isn’t very optimistic that his first choice left back will be available on Tuesday. It’s not injury, but rather a significant stomach illness that’s keeping the Welshman away from his team. The malady comes at a very poor time for both the player and his club.

If fit and firing, Davies would have been an automatic starter against Los Blancos. That might have seemed like a foolish idea to Spurs fans a year ago, but much has changed since then. Davies has proved his worth several times over in relief of Danny Rose in the Englishman’s injury induced absence. Some might even say he’s been Pochettino’s best player on the young season.

While that might be slight hyperbole, there’s no arguing he’s been excellent. He’s second on the team with a Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.61 in Premier League play. Only Harry Kane has posted higher marks this year for Pochettino.

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Pochettino has already shown Spurs fans the most likely option to replace Davies in the starting XI. The Argentine gaffer elected to push Jan Vertonghen out to start on the left against Bournemouth this weekend. Odds favour him doing the same thing at Real Madrid. It isn’t a perfect solution for Spurs, but Vertonghen does play on the left for Belgium. It’s not as if he isn’t capable of playing against elite attackers out wide.

Even so, it’ll be something that Zinedine Zidane and company try to take advantage of. In fairness, they likely would have targeted Davies as well. The Welshman is outstanding technically, but he is not a world-class athlete. Los Blancos will still see the left flank as a potential weak spot in Pochettino’s squad.

Next: Tottenham player ratings v Bournemouth: Eriksen spares Spurs

Having a deep squad is a requirement of successfully advancing in Champions League play. Tottenham will be tested to earn a result at Real Madrid without Ben Davies in the starting XI.

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