Moussa Dembele ready to step up to aid Tottenham’s striking crisis

Dembele ready to step up to aid Tottenham’s striking crisis

Feb 8, 2013 3:00:00 PM

After Jermain Defoe picked up an ankle injury during last week’s 1-0 victory over West Brom, Spurs have only Emmanuel Adebayor to choose from to lead the line

Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele has declared that he is happy to play as a forward if manager Andre Villas-Boas requires him to do so.

Spurs face Newcastle United on Saturday with only Emmanuel Adebayor available to choose from in the striker department, however, the Togo international has only just returned from African Cup of Nations duty.

Dembele has been in good form for Tottenham this season and insists he will use his versatility to revert to playing up front, and hopes Spurs will not miss the goals Defoe have provided.

On whether he will play as a striker, Dembele told Sky Sports: "Of course, if the manager thinks that is the best option, why not?

"It's obvious that he's [Defoe] a very important player for us, he's scored a lot of important goals for us and has the character as well.

"He's very important in our team so it's not very easy for us right now."

Villas-Boas is able to call upon new signing Lewis Holtby, a player that has impressed during his short time at White Hart Lane, and Dembele is pleased with the impact the Germany international has had.

"In the last two games that he has come in he has done very well," Dembele added.

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Champions League final - LIVE!

German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.

6:40 PM BST

And now the Bayern line-up! The only small surprise here is that Jerome Boateng has been preferred to Daniel van Buyten alongside Dante at the heart of the defence. As expected, Mario Mandzukic has got the nod up front ahead of Mario Gomez.

Bayern Munich: Neuer; Lahm, Dante, Boateng, Alaba; Martinez, Schweinsteiger; Robben, Muller, Ribery; Mandzukic.

6:36 PM BST

Borussia Dortmund have announced their starting line-up for tonight's Champions League final!! And it's as we predicted, with Kevin Grosskreutz starting on the left-hand side and Marco Reus moving infield to fill the void left by the injured Mario Gotze.

Dortmund XI v Bayern: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer; Gundogan, Bender; Blaszczykowski, Reus, Grosskreutz; Lewandowski.

6:31 PM BST

Questions rolling in for our own Carlo Garganese over on Twitter, the most left-field of which comes 'I'm Moeg, Sien jy! ‏@MurGyver 34s', who writes:

"Is it true that players can't wear underwear in the final?"

Surely you have to log on now for no other reason than to find out the answer to that cracking enquiry?!

6:26 PM BST

Bayern have arrived at Wembley! The legendary Lothar Mattheus will obviously be cheering on die Roten this evening, but he is just hoping that Fussball is the winner tonight:

"The whole world will watch the game," the World Cup winner told Sky Sport Germany. "It electrifies the masses. Never before there was so much talk about a Champions League final than this time.

"Both groups of fans know the whole world is watching. We have to present ourselves similar to the way we did at WC 2006 because it brings a lot of sympathy. Today we have another chance to present Germany in a positive way."

Unfortunately, there were reports of some clashes between rival sets of fans earlier in the day, but, happily, the atmosphere at the ground is wonderfully good-natured.

6:18 PM BST

Former Dortmund goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was present at the Champions League festival earlier and he is tipping his former side for the title: "I think Bayern are a little stronger but if I was to have a bet, I would bet on Dortmund because that would win me more money!"

However, our tipster Hugh Wilson reckons that the value is a punt on both sides scoring in the first half ...

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