He Atlético de Madrid visits Tottenham in the match of second leg of the Champions League round of 16 League with the 5-2 lead from the first leg in the Metropolitan, but with the necessary caution after the defeats, this same year, at the Emirates against Arsenal in the league (4-0)and the most recent in the second leg of the Cup semifinals en el Camp Nou (3-0) after having beaten 4-0 in the first leg at the Metropolitano.
However, the current Tpottenham is several steps below the ‘gunners’ and culés, with only one point above relegation in the Premier despite the fact that they revived with a 1-1 at Anfield against Liverpool last Sunday, a simple relief for a team that is not getting back on its feet despite having played in the Europa League final last season, losing to Manchester United.
Despite everything, Atlético will have to find its most reliable version, precisely the one that it has not found this season away from home, with only 8 wins in his 23 startsand after conceding three goals in two of their last four games away from the Metropolitano, 3-0 against Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga and 3-0 against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, a result that, if it happened, would lead the elimination to an uncertain extension.
Diego Pablo Simeone will not be able to count on the Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak nor Pablo Barrios, so Juan Musso will be in charge of defending the goal, while Marcos Llorente will occupy the midfield, and with Julián Alvarez, -13 goals in his last 16 games in the Champions League- as a fixture in a squad of forwards in top shape after the best version of Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth.
Marc Pubill, Robin Le Normand, David Hancko and Matteo Ruggeri point to the defense, with Giuliano Simeone and Ademola Lookman on the wings and Johnny Cardoso and the aforementioned Llorente on the half, although Simeone has alternatives and possibilities such as Alex Baena, Nico González, Koke Resurrección or Nahuel Molina, scorer in the last victory against Getafe.
Tottenham clings to the field factor
For its part, Tottenham aspires to a comeback after the severe corrective of the Metropolitano marked by the poor performance of Antonín Kinskywho committed two serious mistakes and seriously conditioned the London team’s options in the tie, which condemned him to be substituted in the 16th minute, already 3-0 down.
Another of the negative points that the duel left was the clash between Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero and Joao Palhinhawhich caused both players to miss the match against Liverpool and are a doubt for the second leg of the round of 16.
The ‘Spurs’ are clinging to their good results at home in the previous phase of the Champions League, where they achieved a total of victories (four out of four), with 10 goals for and none against after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0, Slavia Prague 3-0, Copenhagen 4-0 and Villarreal 1-0.
He Igor Tudor’s team It is also conditioned by a long injury list of important players such as Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Udogie among others, who add to the doubts of ‘Cuti’ Romero and Joao Palhinha to face the comeback. Richarlison is out due to suspension.
