Tottenham vs Atlético de Madrid Champions League preview: Where to watch, predicted line-ups, form, coaches’ thoughts
A quarter-final place will be decided at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday as the hosts chase a comeback.
Where to watch on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What you need to know
Dominic Solanke’s second-half finish in Madrid reduced Atleti’s advantage from four goals to three, and while Spurs have a huge amount to do if they are to salvage this tie, miraculous comebacks do happen in the Champions League. Moreover, Spurs have beaten Atleti by a four-goal margin before; 5-1 in the 1963 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final in Rotterdam.
Diego Simeone’s side will perhaps be reminded of that scoreline in the run-up to kick-off, and minds may also wander back a short distance to their last game in London, when they lost 4-0 to Arsenal in this season’s league phase. A repeat of that result that would spell elimination if history repeats itself. Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? No.
Possible line-ups
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Gray, Sarr; Tel, Simons, Kolo Muani; Solanke
Atleti: Musso; Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Llorente, Cardoso, Lookman; Griezmann, Alvarez
Match facts
Form guide
Tottenham
Form: DLLLL (most recent result first)
Latest: Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham, 15/03, English Premier League
Atleti
Form: WWWLW
Latest: Atleti 1-0 Getafe, 14/03, Spanish Liga
Views from the camps
Igor Tudor, Tottenham coach: “It is difficult but not impossible. We need to stay in the game and focus on our strengths. Everything is still to play for, believing we can do it is the important thing from the start.”
Micky van de Ven, Tottenham defender: “It’s a beautiful game, we have nothing to lose. We want to do something special and we’re going to give everything to turn it around. We know it’s going to be difficult because we’re three goals down, but we’ll do everything we can. The guys showed some great character at the weekend against Liverpool and we can build on that.”
Diego Simeone, Atleti coach: “We pushed for positive things to happen [in the first leg], and they did. I think we could have been more decisive in the first half. We still have another game ahead of us where we’ll have to suffer, as in all matches in Europe. We need to play the game where it is. There’s a three-goal difference; we need to win, and the best way to do that is to score first and put them in a more uncomfortable position.”
Marcos Llorente, Atleti midfielder: “Before [the first leg], we would all have taken scoring five goals in the Champions League, which is no easy feat. We leave with mixed feelings after conceding two, but we have a good advantage heading into the second leg.”
Reporter’s view
Alex Milne, match reporter
A battling draw away at Liverpool at the weekend should provide Tottenham with a much-needed confidence boost as they ended a run of six consecutive defeats in all competitions. The fact that they are still in this tie at all after going 4-0 down within 22 minutes in the first leg means Tudor’s side can see this as a free hit, and with an early goal you just never know. Atleti, though, are in fine form, with six wins in their last seven games, and they will look to do what no side have managed in Spurs’ last 24 European games at home and win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to seal their quarter-final place.
