Why Borussia Dortmund Are Favourites in Europa League Tie with Tottenham Hotspur

The similarities between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur are striking.

Both teams are second in their leagues, five points behind the table-toppers, although it has to be said that trailing only Bayern Munich isn't the same as trailing only Leicester City.

Both have so far exceeded expectations this season: The Black and Yellows by regaining their status as the second powerhouse of German football following a disappointing 2014/15 season and a subsequent coaching change, Spurs by being genuine title contenders and looking more than likely to play UEFA Champions League football next season.

Both clubs even play a comparable style of football, as tactics blogger Tristan Thomas noted for Spielverlagerung.com: "Tottenham play an attacking, possession based game similar to that of Pep Guardiola or Thomas Tuchel."

Lastly, both teams are coming off arguably their biggest league games of the season at the weekend and, of course, both teams drew at home; Dortmund 0-0 against Bayern, Spurs 2-2 in the north London derby.

Despite those similarities, Dortmund are heavy favourites for the UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie with Tottenham on Thursday. In fact, the Ruhr side are widely regarded as the team to beat for the title, per Oddschecker.com.

Here are three reasons why the Black and Yellows should prevail over Tottenham.

Timing

As mentioned, both Dortmund and Spurs are five points behind the league leaders in the Bundesliga and Premier League, respectively. That doesn't mean, however, that both are in a true title race.

Dortmund would've looked at an uphill battle for the Meisterschale even if they had beaten Bayern at the weekend and reduced their deficit to two points. After the draw, their small chance of going neck and neck with the Bavarian giants to the finish line in May has all but vanished into thin air.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

An enormous 16-point lead over third-placed Hertha BSC, however, means Dortmund can fully concentrate on the Europa League.

Spurs, on the other hand, have to feel they're still in the thick of the Premier League title race, even after blowing a 2-1 lead against 10-men Arsenal on Sunday.

Five points aren't nearly as safe an advantage for a surprise team such as Leicester as they are for Bayern. Tottenham may only have a trip to Aston Villa on the cards in between the two meetings with Dortmund, but they can't afford to slip up at the bottom-dwellers.

It might be difficult for Spurs to focus on the league and Europe at the same time—a problem Dortmund don't have.

Personnel

It's obviously simplistic to look at how individual players from Dortmund stack up against their counterparts from Spurs, but the only position where Tottenham have an undeniable edge over BVB is at goalkeeper.

That is especially the case if Roman Weidenfeller, as expected, returns as the first-choice 'keeper for the Europa League after not playing in the previous round against FC Porto. Hugo Lloris is much, much better.

Other than that, however, it's difficult to give Spurs an edge over Dortmund.

The centre-back pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld would probably have to be considered a notch above BVB's, but Vertonghen will miss both matches "with a medial knee ligament injury sustained at Crystal Palace on January 23," per the Evening Standard's Tom Collomosse.

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

His replacement, former FC Cologne defender Kevin Wimmer, is slowly growing into his role next to Alderweireld, as evidenced by his match-saving tackle against Aaron Ramsey in stoppage time at the weekend, but the Austrian is not exactly tried and tested at this point.

Moreover, Dele Alli will miss the first leg with a suspension. The 19-year-old is a big loss for Mauricio Pochettino, seeing as he's provided that extra spark in so many games this season.

Form

As per usual in the European competitions, keeping a clean sheet at home could be crucial for the Black and Yellows. Luckily for their supporters, Dortmund have made a habit of keeping things tidy at the back in 2016. 

They've conceded just one goal in five matches at Signal Iduna Park since the turn of the year, keeping clean sheets against esteemed opposition like Bayern or Porto. Overall, BVB have kept eight clean sheets in their 11 games across competitions in 2016.

Boris Streubel/Getty Images

Spurs, on the other hand, didn't allow opponents to score in four of their 16 matches during that same span, and two of those (against Watford and Fiorentina) came at White Hart Lane.

Bleacher Report's Tom Sunderland predicts a 1-1 draw for Thursday, but Dortmund have a very good shot at getting a better result than that.

Tell us what you think about this exciting matchup in the comments below.

Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.