Bale in or Bale out?
Arsene Wenger kept Barcelona guessing about the fitness of Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, a move reciprocated by Pep Guardiola regarding his own line-up.
So Redknapp is happy to leave Massimiliano Allegri and his men from Milan wondering whether they will have to contend with the pace and power of Bale. Even allowing for the goal threat of Rafael van der Vaart and playmaking skills of Luka Modric, it is Bale who occupies most Milanese minds.
In Italy three weeks ago, there was a palpable sense of relief among the Rossoneri’s supporters and players when they realised Bale was unavailable. Having scored a hat-trick against Inter in the San Siro, Bale then tore the European Champions apart at White Hart Lane, so their big city rivals are understandably running scared of the Welshman.
And of course it suits Redknapp to maintain uncertainty. After the way Bale humiliated Inter’s right-back, prompting chants of “taxi for Maicon” from Tottenham fans, Allegri must be considering doubling up on the left winger, which would create space for Tottenham’s other attacking threats, most notably Modric, Van der Vaart and Aaron Lennon.
Although Tottenham take a 1-0 lead into the tie from the first leg, Redknapp knows his side cannot afford to rest on their laurels and will need to play the same sort of high-octane football that saw off Inter in November.
“It’s a massive game for us,” said the manager. “The fans can’t wait for it to start. It should be a great atmosphere and the players are ready to play so it should be a great night.”
Van der Vaart is back for the first time since playing in Italy, having recovered from a calf injury, but Redknapp is more guarded on Bale’s fitness. The Welshman returned from six weeks out with a back injury for the final 25 minutes against Wolves on Sunday, but Redknapp said: “Gareth has trained, and his back was fine, but he still felt a little bit stiff in the legs, so it’s touch and go to see whether he will play. We’ll see how he feels. I would love to start him if he’s fit, because he’s a fantastic player for us. But if he feels he’s not quite right I wouldn’t want to push him.”
Yet it seems inconceivable that Redknapp will hold back the coltish Bale, knowing that if Spurs get one or two goals ahead, the Italians are unlikely to come back.
Whatever happens, it is unlikely to be dull as Tottenham continue to play their fast-raiding, attacking football against a side brimming with the goalscoring threat of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Alexandre Pato.
“Milan will look to hit us on the counter-attack, and we’ll go out to attack, take the game to them. That is the way we play. There is no point playing for a draw. We are at home, it’s a game we want to win so I will tell the lads, ‘let’s get after them’.
“It’s a wide open competition this year. It’s there for someone to win and we’re still in it and want to go as far as we can. But we have to get past Milan, who are a great football club, with great traditions and players who have played at the highest level throughout their careers. It will be a really difficult game for us.”
It promises to be a difficult night for one Milan player in particular. Mathieu Flamini brings to White Hart Lane the double baggage of being a former Arsenal player and the man who crocked Vedran Corluka with a horrendous tackle three weeks ago.
Corluka has recovered, and is likely to play, but that will not ease the anger of Tottenham. “He’s going to get a hot reception, whatever I might say,” added Redknapp.
“Ex-Arsenal players tend to get a ‘warm welcome’ here and of course he made a bad tackle in the first leg. But I am sure he has had it before and knows what to expect.”
Redknapp’s other big decision is who to play in attack. Peter Crouch scored the only goal of the game in Italy, adding to his impressive strike rate in Europe of a goal every other game. He is likely to partner Van der Vaart, who desperately wants to win this competition having played in the World Cup final and won plenty of trophies throughout his career.
But accommodating those two would mean dropping Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko, who both scored three goals between them at the weekend. “It’s a tough decision but a nice problem to have,” added Redknapp.
Just like whether to start with Bale or keeping him back as an impact player to take advantage of tired legs.
“When he runs with the ball, he scares people to death,” Redknapp said.
Expect him to start.
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