Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 6y

Tottenham's Harry Kane: Favourites tag brings pressure vs. Juventus

LONDON -- Harry Kane has said Tottenham Hotspur must cope with the pressure of being favourites in Wednesday's Champions League round of 16 second leg against Juventus.

Spurs are in a strong position to eliminate last season's runners-up and reach the quarterfinals after recovering from 2-0 down inside nine minutes to draw 2-2 in Turin.

Mauricio Pochettino's side took four points from Real Madrid in the group stage but they were underdogs in both meetings with the European champions.

"We were not the favourites before, but now people are looking at us after that performance at Juventus and saying we should go through," Kane said.

"We have got to cope with that and see how we come through it. Of course there will be added pressure and maybe more nerves, but that is why we play football.

"They are still one of the best teams in Europe. They have been in this situation before and they have got very experienced players. We are not getting carried away.

"We know we played well there, and on another day we could have won. But they will feel they could play better as well.

"Champions League nights are what we all want to be involved in and this is a chance to get into the quarterfinals. To win would be massive.

"We made a big step in that aspect by what we did in the group, and now we have got to try and do it against the big teams consistently.

"We are in great form and have played against a lot of great teams recently and done well. It is important we carry that on. Going through will give us a lot more confidence."

Spurs can progress to the quarterfinals with a goalless draw at Wembley, but Kane said they had no plans to shut up shop.

"We'll approach it the same as every game: press high, quick football, try and attack, try and score," he said. "We know they need to score but we cannot go into the game with any negative thoughts. We have got to try and win the game.

"The way the manager sets us up in every game we are always on the front foot, always pressing, always playing attacking football. I know that is what he will say on Wednesday.

"That is the way we play. If it gets to 80 minutes and it is still 0-0, we might have a different approach -- but from the start we will press high and try and create as many chances as possible.

"It is going to be a full house and the atmosphere is amazing once we get going. Hopefully the fans can cheer us on and make it difficult for them."

Kane said he was expecting another physical battle with Juventus centre-backs Medhi Benatia and Giorgio Chiellini.

"Everyone knows the Italian league, and Italian teams have great defences and they put their bodies on the line," he said.

"I am sure that is what they will do on Wednesday as well. People say the Premier League is physical because every game is difficult. We know it is going to be a physical game against a physical side."

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