After beating Getafe in La Liga on Saturday, Atletico Madrid travel to London to face Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Rojiblancos are hoping to reach the quarter-finals for the second time in three seasons.
The midweek match comes just before Sunday’s Madrid derby and comes exactly a month before April’s Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad, underscoring the intensity and importance of the coming weeks.
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Diego Simeone’s side took a three-goal lead in the first 15 minutes of the first leg against Tottenham after costly mistakes from goalkeeper Antoni Kinski and defender Mickey van de Veen. Robin Le Normand scored the fourth before half-time and Pedro Polo pulled one back for England. In the second 45 minutes, both teams scored one goal each, with Julian Alvarez and Dominic Solanke coming off the bench respectively, and Atletico Madrid maintained a three-goal lead.
If Atletico complete their duties at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Simeone’s side will face either FC Barcelona or Newcastle United. The two teams drew 1-1 at St James’ Park last week.
Tottenham secured an important win at the weekend as Brazilian striker Richarlison pulled a late goal back to earn a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield. Domestically, the North London side currently sit in 16th place, just one point away from the relegation zone.
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It will be interesting to see how coach Igor Tudor balances his squad in a hugely important game against 17th-placed Nottingham Forest on Sunday. There is no doubt that Tottenham will avoid shooting themselves in the foot even more than they already do. Perhaps helping Atletico, though, is the suspension of Richarlison due to yellow card accumulation, as he joins Tottenham’s already long list of absences (although captain Christian Romero will return after a concussion kept him out of the Liverpool game).
But as we’ve seen already this season, a multi-goal lead in the first leg doesn’t mean there won’t be pain in the second leg.
Team news
Jan Oblak will miss his second straight game after suffering a muscle strain last week. His absence paves the way for Juan Musso to start again on the pitch. In addition, midfielders Pablo Barrios (hamstring) and Rodri Mendoza (ankle) will also miss the game due to injuries.
With much of the squad rested against Getafe at the weekend, Jolo Simeone is expected to make sweeping changes and resume his ‘first-team’ duties for the tour of England. On the defensive side, Mark Purbill and Matteo Ruggieri may begin to be widespread, with Robin Normandy and consistent david Hanko Deployed as a central defender.
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Move to the flanks, most likely Giuliano Simeone and Ademola Lukman Will get the chance to start and use their pace and dribbling to cause Tottenham problems. Pubil is at right back, Marcos Llorente There will be an opportunity to cause chaos in midfield again Johnny Cardozo. Llorente impressed in the first leg, scoring Atletico’s first goal and opening the second leg by pressing Pep Sarr.
above, Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann We will be looking to score more goals for the Lilywhites.
Expected lineup:
Musso; Pubil, Lenormand, Hanko, Ruggieri; G. Simeone, Llorente, Cardoso, Lookman; Alvarez, Griezmann.
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Be sure to check out the Calderon and Atleti Podcast for all the post-game material!
