A Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links March 10, 2016

Good morning!

After quite the week of derbies, and a fun bit of build up, the first of two matches against Borussia Dortmund is here. We're all pretty excited, but what makes this first leg even more intriguing is the relatively fresh lineup we are poised to see. Bromance duo extraordinaire Dele Alli and Eric Dier are still in London, spreading banter as far as the eye can see, along with Danny Rose.

This isn't such a big deal for our fullback situation. Ben Davies and Rose have been rotating on and off again since the fixture list reached critical mass, but a midfield setup without Dier has been rare, rarer still one without him and his partner in crime. We knew that Alli would miss out due to suspension, but the Dier situation comes as a bit of shock. Amongst the gnashing of teeth earlier in the year about lack of rotation, all signs point to Mauricio Pochettino being aware of the need to keep his players whole. When everyone was hurt, there was only so much he could do, seemingly.

Now there isn't much else to do but wait for the lineups (it is going to be Dembele-Mason in midfield, right?) and cheer like crazy. This is going to be fun.

And now for the "news":

Tottenham are stronger than before, says Mauricio| Independent

I'd like to think they sit around and listen to Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger" in the changing room, but there is no way Harry Kane is that current on his music. I picture him trying to explain Sinatra to the guys and a whole lot of silence coming back at him.

Spurs are lining up Berardi| Express

Take that Man Utd, take that Jose Mou...I mean, Louis Van Gaal, I mean, Jose.

Goodness, who is the manager over there? Anyways, we won't let you all ruin him.

Kevin Wimmer urges Spurs to make a statement of intent| Daily Mail

Let's all hope for a last second 1-0 Spurs victory that sees the boys barely make it to the airport, Kevin urging them all the way to "Hurry, get to the chopper'.

Benfica knock Zenit out of the CL| SB Nation Soccer

The only thing I could focus on was Yuri Zhirkov still playing football. Everything else was lost in the wash.