MAURICIO POCHETTINO INSISTS Tottenham believe they can topple any team in Europe ahead of the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Borussia Dortmund.
Spurs face a seemingly straightforward task after soundly beating the Bundesliga leaders 3-0 at Wembley last month in their first leg encounter.
However, form has deserted them in the Premier League since, with a run of one point from the past nine available effectively removing Pochettino’s men from the title race.
Nevertheless, belief remains high going into Tuesday’s showdown at Signal Iduna Park as the north London club look to secure their spot in the competition’s last eight.
“In a competition like the Champions League or Europa League or the domestic cups you need not only to win games, you need to be more than lucky sometimes to arrive to play the final,” Pochettino told a pre-match news conference when asked whether Spurs can go all the way.
“I think many circumstances are involved where sometimes you can arrive to play a final and maybe are not the best team.
“Always for me the most important is the Premier League or the Bundesliga. The most consistent team always wins and the best team always beats the other 19 opponents.
“The belief, of course, is that we can beat any team, But now I think we need to do a very good job, be professional, be aggressive and try to forget the first leg.
“In our ambition and our mind we are always positive. We trust in ourselves and, of course, you can beat any team.”
Dele Alli is back in training following a hamstring injury but Tuesday’s game is expected to come too soon for him. The weekend trip to Southampton represents a more realistic target for the attacking midfielder, who last featured when he scored in a 2-1 win at Fulham in January.
Pochettino has Harry Winks [hip] and Eric Dier [tonsillitis] in his squad but expects the England midfield duo to feature on the bench, if at all.
Winks and Dier’s international team-mate Kieran Trippier has not travelled but, like Alli, could be fit to face Southampton.
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