Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Gundogan could play for Real Madrid or Barca, Tottenham manager says

Title chasers in England and Germany meet on Thursday night as Tottenham Hotspur travel to Borussia Dortmund for the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

Spurs and Dortmund find themselves five points behind the current leaders – Leicester City in the Premier League and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga – but still in the running.

The first leg in Germany will be head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s 100th game in charge at Tottenham.

“Borussia Dortmund have very good players, a very good team, a great coach – Thomas Tuchel is fantastic and he has showed that from the beginning of the season,” Pochettino said ahead of the match.

“I like the way they play but I think that it’s a good challenge for us. I think we play against one of the best teams in Europe,” he added.

“The strikers they have – Aubameyang, (Henrikh) Mkhitaryan, Gundogan in midfield, Hummels – they’re internationals and big players. They can stay here or go to Real Madrid or Barcelona,” the Tottenham manager said.