Tottenham vs Atletico Madrid LIVE: Champions League prediction, team news and line-ups tonight – UK Times

Tottenham XI: Vicario; Dragusin, Romero, Van de Ven; Porro Sarr, Gray, Spence; Tel, Simons; Kolo Muani.

Subs: Kinsky, Austin, Danso, Udogie, Bergvall, Gallagher, Olusesi, Roswell, Kyerematen.

The line-ups will be released in the next five minutes, so here’s a reminder of the early team news for both sides…

Conor Gallagher and Dominic Solanke are both major doubts for Tottenham, who are also without the injured Joao Palhinha and suspended Richarlison. Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Udogie may be fit enough for places on the bench.

Jan Oblak’s muscle strain means Juan Musso is likely to start again in goal for Atletico Madrid. Pablo Barrios and Rodri Mendoza are also unavailable.

Tottenham have won just three of their 16 meetings with Spanish sides in all European competition (D5 L8). The first of those was against Atletico, beating them 5-1 in the 1963 Uefa Cup Winners Cup final.

Having lost just one of their first six Champions League away games against English sides (W2 D3), Atletico have now lost five of their last six visits to England (W1). However, all three of their away wins against Premier League teams in the competition have come in the knockout stages (3-1 v Chelsea in 2013/14, 3-2 v Liverpool in 2019/20 and 1-0 v Man Utd in 2021/22).

It was a truly remarkable evening in Madrid in last week’s first leg, with Spurs conceding four goals in the opening 22 minutes to effectively end the match as a contest by the midway point of the first half.

It all started with a few slips, Antonin Kinsky and Micky van de Ven going down to gift the hosts their first two goals, before an even more ridiculous slip from Kinsky allowed Julian Alvarez to saunter towards an open goal for the third.

That calamity saw Kinsky subbed after just 17 minutes but it didn’t get any better for the visitors, who were four down after Robin Le Normand headed in just minutes after Guigliemo Vicario had come on.

Surprisingly, it did get a little better for Spurs as the game went on, with Pedro Porro getting one back, and while Dominic Solanke lashed in late on too, a second goal Julian Alvarez meant that Spurs ended the game trailing by three goals ahead of tonight’s second leg.

Micky van de Ven has launched a robust defence of his commitment to Tottenham Hotspur, vehemently dismissing reports that players are indifferent to the club’s precarious situation as “nonsense”.

Spurs are currently embroiled in a Premier League relegation battle and slipped to a club-record sixth consecutive loss when they were beaten 5-2 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie last week.

While a spirited 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Sunday offered a glimmer of hope, Van de Ven, who himself faced criticism following a red card against Crystal Palace earlier this month, was quick to refute claims that some players have “checked out” of the survival fight.

However, Spurs will be without Joao Palhinha for the return leg, while Conor Gallagher may have to settle for a place on the bench after suffering from a virus in the lead up to the draw with Liverpool.

Spurs captain Romero makes a return from the concussion that he suffered in a collision with Palhinha in the 5-2 first-leg loss just under a week ago, though the Portuguese midfielder has not recovered in time for this week’s match.

The report from a remarkable evening in Madrid in the first leg…

For a team failing on all fronts, Tottenham Hotspur succeeded in one thing. They put the mad into Madrid. In the meltdown in the Metropolitano, Spurs appeared to knock themselves out of the Champions League in 22 strange, shocking minutes. An hour later, Dominic Solanke’s goal provided a glimmer of hope amid the humiliation. There may be a sliver of a chance the craziest part is still to come.

Because, as Tottenham lost six consecutive games for the first time in their history, they could be grateful they leave Spain only beaten 5-2. They seemed to turn up in the wrong boots, with the wrong goalkeeper and the wrong manager.

They gifted Atletico Madrid an assortment of ridiculous goals, the first three each sillier than the last, the fifth with a hole where their defence was supposed to be. A side with a capacity for slip-ups took it literally, losing their balance, the ball, their dignity and, probably, their place in the Champions League. Their latest manager may lose his job.

The second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie is due to kick off at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 18 March at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 3, with coverage on the channel from 7pm GMT. A live stream will be available via discovery+.

Tottenham XI: Vicario; Danso, Romero, Van de Ven; Porro, Gray, Sarr, Spence; Kolo Muani, Solanke, Simons.

Atletico Madrid XI: Musso; Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri; G. Simeone, Llorente, Cardoso, Lookman; Alvarez, Griezmann.

Jan Oblak’s muscle strain means Juan Musso is likely to start again in goal for Atletico Madrid. Pablo Barrios and Rodri Mendoza are also unavailable.