Scout Notes – Spurs out, City through

A pair of 2-1 home defeats have contrasting repercussions for the two English teams as Spurs bow out and Man City march on in the Champions League.

A change of personnel to accommodate a tactical switch undid all Spurs’ good work in just three minutes as Juventus found a way to win at Wembley.

The home side dominated the first half and deservedly went in at the break 1-0 up when Son Heung-min’s mis-hit shot, from a Kieran Trippier cross, found the net.

But Spurs failed to convert that dominance into further goals and when the Italian changes came, they turned the tie on its head and put the visitors through 3-2 on aggregate.

The loss may lead to a backlash when Mauricio Pochettino’s men travel to Bournemouth on Sunday, though, equally, the Cherries might fancy their chances against a side still struggling to cope with an emotionally draining encounter.

Pochettino made just the one change from the team that beat Huddersfield 2-0 last weekend, with Trippier in for the suspended Serge Aurier.

The roles could well be reversed at the Vitality Stadium, where it would also be no surprise if Son – owned by 11.1% – is rested to the bench.

The South Korean was the standout performer last night and made it five goals in his last three matches in all competitions with the opener against the Italian champions.

That form has persuaded 76,000+ Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers to make him the second most purchased player of Gameweek 30.

But he’s now started three fixtures in a week – the only Spurs player in action against Juventus to have such a workload – and could well lose his place to Erik Lamela, who was a second-half substitute last night, as a result.

Ben Davies (23.7%) is another threatened by rotation.

The left-back has seen his ownership rise by close to half a million in the last two Gameweeks and is currently the fourth most popular player heading into this weekend as well.

He, too, has been busy, however, with nine straight starts in the league prior to the Juventus match suggesting that Danny Rose could be in line for minutes at Bournemouth.

A blank Gameweek 31 follows Sunday’s match and Pochettino might well start fielding close to his first-choice team in the FA Cup for a serious shot at earning his first silverware as Spurs boss.

They face Swansea City in the quarter-finals, following that up with a huge Gameweek 32 trip to Chelsea that would go a long way to securing a place in next season’s Champions League should they win at Stamford Bridge.

The FA Cup semi-finals take place during Gameweek 35, when Spurs are due to travel to Brighton.

More pertinently, if the preceding Gameweek turns out to be a double-header, it would involve a visit from Man City and, very likely, Newcastle as well.

Should that be the case, Pochettino may be tempted to freshen up his options for the Magpies encounter, though last night’s exit should now lessen the chances of rotation over the run-in.

Nonetheless, those looking to Wildcard in Gameweek 32 could limit their short-term interest to Kane – all the more so given that Spurs’ next three league matches are on the road – with Son’s outstanding home form surely set to be a factor from Gameweek 34 onwards, given that four of their final six league fixtures will take place at Wembley.

Guardiola gives it a rest

Man City lost at home to Basel, but still eased into the Champions League quarter-finals 5-2 on aggregate.

The defeat was their first at the Etihad since 2016, but it was a price worth paying as coach Pep Guardiola made sweeping changes to his team.

Six players from Sunday’s win over Chelsea were either benched or rested and, crucially, the five who sat on the sidelines – Ederson, Nicolas Otamendi, Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero – stayed there throughout.

David Silva wasn’t even in the squad, while his namesake Bernardo continued his rich vein of form by setting up City’s opener for Gabriel Jesus, who was making his first start since returning from injury.

The Portuguese midfielder scored in the first leg in Switzerland and also has two goals and an assist from his last four Gameweek starts.

Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling’s owners were left none the wiser to his availability for the Gameweek 30 trip to Stoke City on Monday, with the England man omitted from the squad.

Another of last night’s team, Ilkay Gundogan, could also be under threat as he has started eight of the last ten league matches.

A full 90 minutes, and goal, for Jesus shouldn’t cause Aguero’s 26.7% ownership too much alarm, at least for Monday evening’s match.

The Argentine has started eight straight league fixtures, while De Bruyne has been an ever-present and Otamendi has missed just one Gameweek, so all three were certainly due a rest.

But Jesus is being eased back into action after missing close to two months of football, with the frenetic schedule to follow their Gameweek 31 blank the period when Guardiola will have to call on all of his resources.

City’s postponed fixture at home to Brighton is likely to drop into a double Gameweek 34 also involving a trip to Spurs.

But there will be both legs of a Champions League quarter-final and domestic matches away at Everton and home to Man United to accommodate before that.

That marks out Gameweek 32’s trip to Goodison Park as a rotation hotspot in which Jesus could replace Aguero up front – prior to his injury, the Brazilian started nine of City’s first 11 away matches this season.

At the back, John Stones partnered Aymeric Laporte at centre-half and both played the full 90 minutes without ever truly convincing as a pair.

The Englishman had managed just nine minutes across the previous five Gameweeks and although Guardiola seems to view Otamendi and Vincent Kompany as his preferred centre-back combination, he can now choose from four of them to ramp up the potential for rotation at the heart of his defence.

City join Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final draw, which will take place a week on Friday.

The ties will then be played on April 3/4 – prior to Gameweek 33 and 10/11 before Gameweek 34.