Tottenham Hotspur v Real Madrid – live!

• Hit refresh or the auto-update button for the latest posts • Send your thoughts to paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk • Look in on live coverage of Schalke v Inter here • And follow all tonight’s live scores from games elsewhere Crouchian turmoil: “There had better not be any shots of Peter Crouch looking on from a comfy seat tonight, while his team-mates try to deal with the ramifications from his first leg idiocy,” fulminates Steven Hughes. “Two goals at home against Stoke City in the meantime should still leave the ice well and truly uncut. Crouch should watch this game from within a set of stocks while wearing one of those beanie hats that have the little propeller on the top.” Team talk: It seems that the Special One is still sufficiently wary of Spurs to include four of the players who are on yellow cards and, therefore, at risk of incurring a suspension that would rule them out of the first-leg of the semi-final against Barcelona. Carvalho would be a particularly damaging absentee … and if particularly likely to incur a booking. As for Spurs, good to see Huddlestone back in action from the start; he’s the closest thing Spurs have to Xabi Alonso. And Pavlyuchenko is, in my opinion, the closest thing they have to a dangerous striker. He should always start against Crouch, especially in the Premier League. Preamble: Around about 3am this morning – the witching hour! – Harry Redknapp crept out of bed, donned a dark cloak and summoned his players to gather around a Ouija board. Or a crop circle. Or a fairy ring. Possibly in a cemetery, an inexplicably abandoned mansion or in the middle of a forest near a group of teenage American campers who’ve blithely ignored all forebodings about venturing there. Because Harry, you see, is desperate for a paranormal experience: only a supernatural happening can rescue Tottenham from Champions League elimination tonight. The thing is, in this competition the Special One tends to have a monopoly on phenomena. And chances are not only will Real preserve their lead from the first-leg, they will – given how badly Spurs defended in the first leg (two goals from corners, another from a goalkeeper blunder) – they will probably extend it and end a run that is quite freakish for a club of their stature: Real have not won a Champions League knock-out match on foreign soil since 2000. Teams: Spurs: Gomes; Corluka, Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon (subject to verification at kick-off), Huddlestone, Modric, Bale; Van der Vaart; Pavlyuchenko Subs: Cudicini, Kaboul, Jenas, Defoe, Bassong, Kranjcar, Sandro Real: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Carvalho, Albiol, Arbeloa; Khedira, Xabi Alonso; Ronaldo, Ozil, Marcelo; Adebayor Subs: Adan, Kaka, Benzema, Granero, Garay, Higuain, Di Maria Ref: N Rizzoli (Ita) Champions League Tottenham Hotspur Real Madrid Paul Doyle guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.