Tottenham Hotspur arrive in Paris on Wednesday needing a performance that looks nothing like their derby collapse at Arsenal.
Anything close to that showing will leave them with no chance of taking three points from Paris Saint-Germain.
The Champions League fixture is a rematch of the UEFA Super Cup, which PSG won on penalties, but the question now is whether the gap between the sides has widened since August.
Tottenham’s confidence is at a low ebb after their 4-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal exposed structural weaknesses and forced travelling supporters to leave before the final whistle.
Thomas Frank’s side looked overwhelmed in transition and in duels, which will be a concern ahead of facing a PSG team still furious about their own recent European setback.
PSG were beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich three weeks ago despite playing the second half with an extra man, and manager Luis Enrique was frustrated that his side could not convert pressure into points.
They still sit comfortably inside the automatic qualification bracket and remain unbeaten at home in back-to-back Champions League games throughout their history.
They recovered with two Ligue 1 victories and a clean-sheet win over Le Havre that restored some rhythm, although they are not operating at the same ruthless level that carried them to last season’s title.
Tottenham would normally welcome any sign of fragility from PSG, but their own issues overshadow that optimism after a run of three defeats in five domestic matches.
They have protected an unbeaten Champions League record this season with two wins and two draws, and have kept five clean sheets in their last seven European fixtures across all competitions.
Their two away matches in the competition have ended level, but the Super Cup shoot-out defeat to PSG showed the margins remain tight.
Frank must now decide whether to abandon the conservative approach that failed so dramatically at Arsenal or double down on structure in the hope of frustrating PSG.
Tottenham need a disciplined, aggressive response if they want to stay on track for qualification, because PSG will expect to exploit any repeat of the passivity that defined the derby performance.
