Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur: Champions League round of 16 preview, team news and previous meetings

The Palace defeat additionally meant Spurs at the moment are winless of their final 11 league matches – the worst run of their Premier League historical past. Nevertheless, Spurs have saved a few of their ‘uncommon’ good performances this season for European nights. Beneath Thomas Frank, they completed fourth within the Champions League group stage, forward of the likes of Actual Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Igor Tudor is now within the dugout, and after a troublesome first three video games in cost, he’ll be determined for his first win in a contest Spurs have performed nicely.

Not like Tottenham, Atletico Madrid didn’t safe a top-eight end within the Champions League desk and had been subsequently pressured to play an extra knockout fixture. Diego Simeone’s facet got here via that check comfortably, defeating Membership Brugge 7-4 on combination final month.

The Spanish outfit arrive for this conflict on the again of a dramatic 3-2 win over Actual Sociedad on the weekend. That consequence helped regular the ship after a bruising 3-0 defeat to Barcelona within the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg, though Atletico had already performed the harm with a 4-0 win within the first leg.

What time does Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham kick off?

Location: Madrid, SpainStadium: Riyadh Air MetropolitanoDate: Tuesday, tenth March 2026Kick-off Time: 8 pm BSTReferee: Serdar Gozubuyuk (NED)VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)

Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur: Head-to-head report

This would be the first aggressive assembly between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.

The 2 sides have confronted one another solely as soon as earlier than in a pre-season event in Australia again in 2016, when Diego Simeone’s Atletico edged Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs 1-0.

Tottenham group information

Tottenham will not less than be boosted by the return of their first-choice centre-back pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven for this competitors after each gamers served/will serve suspensions within the Premier League.

Djed Spence might return for the primary leg, whereas Future Udogie, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert are confirmed absentees.

Conor Gallagher, Radu Dragusin and Mathys Tel had been added to Spurs’ 22-man Champions League squad in January. The opposite injured gamers (James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur) are anyway excluded from the listing.

Atletico Madrid group information

Atletico Madrid could possibly be with out January signing Rodrigo Mendoza, who picked up an ankle drawback through the weekend’s win over Actual Sociedad and was pressured off at half-time, leaving him a serious doubt for the primary leg.

Pablo Barrios is the opposite health concern for Diego Simeone. The midfielder has been coping with a hamstring problem, nonetheless, there’s hope he might get well in time to characteristic right here.

Predicted line-ups:

TOTTENHAM: Vicario, Porro, Danso, Romero, Van de Ven, Grey, Sarr, Simons, Gallagher, Richarlison, Solanke

ATLETICO MADRID: Oblak, Llorente, Molina, Hancko, Ruggeri, Simeone, Cardoso, Koke, Lookman, Griezmann, Alvarez

Our Prediction

With Premier League survival now the “naked minimal” goal, this competitors represents the one manner for the gamers to repay a struggling fan base. Whereas the squad has lacked combating spirit domestically, they’ve constantly discovered an additional gear on the European stage, a lot alike final season underneath Ange Postecoglou.

Cristian Romero particularly will probably be essential, each defensively and in setting the tone mentally for the remainder of the facet. Conor Gallagher will even have further motivation as he prepares for his Tottenham Champions League debut in opposition to a facet he is aware of very nicely. His familiarity with Diego Simeone’s tactical setup could possibly be helpful for Spurs in midfield battles.

For the hosts, Ademola Lookman is the person to look at. With 6 objective contributions in 8 begins since his winter transfer, his tempo and directness will present an enormous check for Van de Ven.

Tottenham merely can not afford to permit Atletico to hold a lead into the return leg on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, given Simeone’s sides are identified to be tough to interrupt down when defending a bonus.

Confidence could also be low round Tottenham proper now, however European nights have usually introduced out a unique model of this group.

Predicted rating: Atletico Madrid 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur