Event of the Day: Tottenham Hotspur versus Ajax

Our event of the day is the Champions League Semi-final first leg between Tottenham and Ajax at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The north London outfit earned themselves a Semi-final spot after overcoming Manchester City in the last round and they are now just two games away from their first ever Champions League final appearance. However, standing in their way is European royalty in the shape of Ajax who have already proven their credentials at Europe’s top table this term having eliminated Real Madrid and Juventus in the previous two knockout rounds. After a disappointing result last time out against West Ham, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be desperate to get back in front of their home crowd and bounce back in what is arguably the biggest game of their season thus far. However, the Argentine’s squad is severely depleted just now and he will have to mastermind a way past Ajax without their two top scorers in Harry Kane and Son Heung-min who between them have notched 44 times in all competitions this term. This will not deter the Tottenham fans from booking their plane tickets to Madrid as the Spurs half of north London prepare for another glorious night at the new White Hart Lane. 

For Ajax, the denouement of this season could be one of the most exciting in their illustrious history - not only are they competing for a place in the Champions League final, but they are also neck and neck with PSV in the Eredivisie title race. The latter, however, will be put on the back burner this week as Erik ten Hag and his Ajax squad make the short hop from Europe to London where they will look to improve upon what has already been an extraordinary Champions League campaign. It has been their eclectic mix of youth and experience that has seen the Dutch giants reach their first Champions League Semi-final since 1997, and ten Hag will certainly call for another stand out performance from Dušan Tadić who is no stranger to English football. Having spent four years on the south coast with Southampton, Tadić will be familiar with the intensity Tottenham will look to play at, but he will certainly look to do more than simply nullify their attacking threat as he looks to add to his tally of six goals in the competition this term. It should be a thrilling night of European football at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NBA where the Golden State Warriors host the Houston Rockets at the Oracle Arena for game 2 of the Western Conference Semi-finals. The reigning champions took game 1 in dramatic fashion as a last-minute no-call on James Harden after Steph Curry dropped a timely three-pointer ensured the W stayed in the Bay Area and you can expect similar excitement in tonight’s affair. Elsewhere, Portsmouth will look to close the gap on the teams above them in League One as they welcome an in-form Peterborough United side to Fratton Park. The World Snooker Championship has already provided plenty of upsets and Gary Wilson will look to cause another in the Quarter-finals today as he takes on two-time runner up Ali Carter at the Crucible. There is T20 action to watch out for today in the Indian Premier League as the Rajasthan Royals make the trip to Bangalore to take on the Royal Challengers. Finally, the NHL playoffs are well underway now and today sees two game threes as the Boston Bruins take on the Columbus Blue Jackets whilst the Colorado Avalanche host the San Jose Sharks at the Pepsi Center.

Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!

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Photos by Tottenham Hotspurs; Ajax

 

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