ESPN journalist, Dale Johnson has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur will now play the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 clash against Dinamo Zagreb at home due to Arsenal being drawn to play their second leg against Olympiacos in North London.
Tottenham’s chances of going the distance in the Europa League have certainly gone up drastically over the last two days.
Several big sides like Leicester City, Napoli, Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen were knocked out of the competition on Thursday and Spurs were able to avoid being drawn against the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Roma and AC Milan in the latest draw.
Jose Mourinho will likely feel that being drawn against Dinamo Zagreb gives his side a good chance of progressing to the quarter-final.
The draw this afternoon initially had Spurs playing the second leg at home. However, with Arsenal also set to travel to Olympiacos for their first-leg, UEFA rules stipulate that two matches cannot be held in the same city on the same day.
Johnson has revealed that Arsenal have the fixture rights as a result of being the FA Cup holders which means that Spurs will have to host Dinamo in the first leg before travelling to Zagreb.
Spurs Web Opinion
Playing the second leg in Zagreb can be tricky, particularly given Dinamo’s strong showing at home in the competition so far. However, Spurs still go into the tie as overwhelming favourites.
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