Pochettino believes Tottenham are better than ever ahead of Juventus showdown.
Tottenham travel to Turin to face Juventus on Tuesday and Mauricio Pochettino feels it is a good time for his side to face the Serie A champions.
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham team are performing better than ever as they prepare to take on Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League. Spurs began the new year with some disappointing performances, drawing Premier League games with West Ham and Southampton before they were held by lowly Newport County in the FA Cup.
Their form in the last two weeks has returned to its very best, though, with Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal in the north London derby coming after victories over Manchester United and Newport in the Cup replay, as well as a 2-2 draw at Liverpool.
Pochettino’s side have arguably impressed the most in Champions League this season, finishing top of their group ahead of holders Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, and he thinks now is the ideal time to test themselves against last year’s beaten finalists.
Pochettino said: “I’m going through the best time since I started coaching Tottenham, The results against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal gave us confidence. Now we know we can face the big teams with a different spirit. It’s the best time to play against Juventus. They’ve played in two Champions League finals in three years. But we’re ready and we have confidence in our chances. Let’s see what happens.
“In theory, the game in Turin is key because we face the away leg first, but when a knockout is decided in one hundred and eighty minutes, you never know what the decisive moment will be. We’ll be the usual Tottenham. We have our own identity of playing and we’ll respect it, as we respect Juventus.
“Against the Italians, the first requirement is intelligence. You have to use your head. In Italy, tactics and defences are some of the strengths and Juve perfectly represent that culture.”
