Mauricio Pochettino was unusually bullish at the opening of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Following a successful test event overseen by 30,000 optimistic fans, the Tottenham manager declared that a bumper crowd could make the difference against Manchester City in the Champions League.
“We are in a good place in the Premier League, and we have a tough draw in the Champions League ," he said. "I think with all 62,000 people we can make possible our dream to be in the semi-final, why not. We believe.”
If the manager was echoing the mood on a day of relief and anticipation around the club, he was also making the valid point that What Man City fans can expect from Tottenham's new stadium ahead of Champions League clash does help Tottenham's chances of going through.
Nobody knows how either team will play at the new ground, but it has become evident just how comfortable the home of football has become for the northern kings.
What Man City fans can expect from Tottenham's new stadium ahead of Champions League clash
City have won their last five games in all competitions there, including two cup finals and two comprehensive victories over Spurs.
They will also be in the away dressing room at Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final just three days before the Champions League quarter-final. That would have been perfect preparation. But instead, having been indulged more than FIFA delegates during a World Cup bid, Tottenham have been allowed to host both Premier League and Champions League matches at their new ground despite it only opening eight months into a ten-month season.
Rather than enjoy the familiar comforts of Wembley, the Blues will instead play an away game against Spurs at a third different ground in three seasons; it will be interesting to see if Guardiola changes their usual pre-match routine and train at the ground of the away team to give themselves more of a feel for what they are in for.
Knockout football is about trying to leave as little as possible to the unknown: play to your strengths, capitalise on opposition weakness, and if all goes well you should be able to neutralise any impact such as atmosphere or bad officiating.
At Wembley, the City manager could be confident that if his team played as they can there would be little to worry about but a new stadium with more than 60,000 excited Tottenham fans is an unknown that he cannot plan for. The more unknowns, the more the chance of one of those collapses that have followed Guardiola across his career when his team lose themselves and concede multiple goals in a short space of time (as seen against Liverpool and Monaco in recent Champions League campaigns).
City will still be favourites to reach the semi-final, but Tottenham's new stadium should make it a closer tie.
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