Raphinha scores hat-trick in 100th appearance for Barca
Brazilian winger Raphinha celebrated his 100th appearance for FC Barcelona with a hat-trick goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
Tottenham Hotspur will have to make do without the services of Serge Aurier and Toby Alderweireld when they welcome Italian giants Juventus for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie on Wednesday night, Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed.
While Serge Aurier is suspended after picking up a yellow card in the first leg, Alderweireld is still recovering from a long-term hamstring injury.
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The Belgian centre-back, widely considered as the finest defender Spurs possess, played a few games in February after making a comeback but seems to have suffered a minor setback and is expected to rejoin first-team training from next week.
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In Aurier’s stead, Kieran Tripper will feature as Pochettino is expected to continue with a back-four with Alderweireld injured.
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Club-record signing Davinson Sanchez will partner Jan Vertonghen in the centre of the defence with Danny Rose expected to challenge Ben Davies for the left-back spot.
The tie is evenly poised after the first leg in Italy ended in a 2-2 draw, but the fact that Spurs have two away goals in the bag give them a slight advantage as they seek to progress to the last-eight.
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Juve have named a strong traveling squad for the tie, with Mario Mandzukic the only notable absentee and after their last-gasp win over Lazio on the weekend, they will be full of confidence as well.
While they are competing for silverware on three fronts, Spurs are in the hunt for two trophies and Wednesday’s tie has all the makings of a classic, especially as both teams are in good form.
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