Mauricio Pochettino hopes Tottenham will play Champions League quarter-final in new stadium

Spurs are planning to finally open their new stadium next month after almost a whole season of delays

Mauricio Pochettino hopes that Tottenham will play their Champions League quarter-final in the new White Hart Lane after Spurs completed a 4-0 aggregate victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Spurs are planning to finally open their new stadium next month after almost a whole season of delays. The first match has not yet been announced, and hinges on whether Brighton and Hove Albion will be able to play Tottenham on Sunday 7 April or whether they will be playing an FA Cup semi-final.

But Spurs will have a ‘home’ leg on 9-10 or 16-17 April which Pochettino said tonight could be at the new ground.

“I expect to play in the new stadium,” Pochettino said when asked about playing the quarter-final at the new ground. “We were talking yesterday with Daniel [Levy], it was very positive. I hope yes. Before the game we were listening to the Champions League song, and I was talking with Jesus [Perez]. It would be amazing, to be standing in the new stadium and to hear it before the game. Now we are in the quarter-final, we hope we can finish it and we can listen to the song in there.”

As well as the Brighton game, Spurs have a Premier League game against Huddersfield on Saturday 13 April, between the two legs of the Champions League quarter-finals, that could also open the new stadium.

Pochettino also let slip that he is expecting to be issued with a touchline ban tomorrow morning for his rant at Mike Dean at Turf Moor last week. “I am not going to talk about it, but you are going to see why,” Pochettino said.

“I am very disappointed but I don’t think it is going to change, I don’t care. If we are not going to receive help from our people, in our country, only I can laugh. But you are going to see why tomorrow.” That ban is likely to be for Spurs’ trip to Southampton this Saturday.