Leonardo Bonucci names the Premier League team he fears in Champions League draw
Leonardo Bonucci has admitted he hopes Juventus avoid Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur when the Champions League last 16 draw is made.
The Italian champions sealed their progress to the knockout stages as group winners with a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
There will be several big teams to avoid when the draw is made following the final round of group fixtures, including Spanish giants Real Madrid.
But Bonucci picked out Mourinho’s revitalised Spurs side as the biggest danger lurking in the pot.
“If I need to pick a team to avoid, I would say Tottenham,” he told Sport Mediaset (via Football Italia).
“Mourinho may give them something extra in certain games. A lot can change between now and the last 16, but with this change Tottenham are back on track, with all respect to (Mauricio) Pochettino.”
Mourinho replaced the sacked Pochettino last week after a slump in form from the north London side.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss has got off to a dream start, recording back-to-back wins against West Ham and Olympiacos.
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His next test comes on Saturday, when Spurs host Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Tottenham go into the game in 10th place with 17 points from 13 games, and sit nine points outside of the top four.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.