Tottenham visit Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie, with their European endeavours arguably serving as an unwelcome distraction from their relegation fight in the Premier League.
Spurs breezed through the league phase, finishing in the top eight to go straight through to the last 16.
Atletico, meanwhile, had to come through a testing playoff-round tie with Club Brugge, which they won 7-4 on aggregate.
But the two sides could hardly be experiencing more contrasting fortunes domestically.
While Atletico maintained their advantage in the race for third in LaLiga with a 3-2 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday, Tottenham slumped to a dismal 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace last Thursday, leaving them just a point above the relegation zone.
As such, Atletico are the heavy favourites to progress and set up a quarter-final tie with either Newcastle United or Barcelona.
Tottenham manager Igor Tudor has overseen three successive defeats since taking over from Thomas Frank, leading to speculation he could soon be removed from his interim post.
But for striker Dominic Solanke, who scored against Palace, the emphasis is on the players to improve a desperate situation.
“It’s difficult, just speaking, but we need to realise the position we’re in, we need to fight every game, fight for every result, we haven’t got many games left now,” he told SPURSPLAY after the Palace loss.
“We need to see what’s going wrong on the pitch, debrief that and see what we can change. We’re not in a position to dwell on anything right now, we need to make sure that in the next game we’re going to be at it, seeing how we can improve.”
Making those improvements against a side of the calibre of Atletico would be a huge confidence boost for Spurs.
But, with Atletico unbeaten in Champions League knockout ties at home since Diego Simeone started his storied tenure in 2011, the likelihood is it will be another difficult evening for Tottenham.
Team news for Atletico Madrid v Tottenham
Atletico may be without January signing Rodrigo Mendoza after he suffered an ankle injury in the win over Sociedad. Pablo Barrios is set to return from a hamstring issue.
Tottenham will hope to get Djed Spence (calf) and Destiny Udogie (thigh) back in the near future, but it remains to be seen if Radu Dragusin will feature after he suffered a knock in the defeat to Palace.
Wilson Odobert (ACL), James Maddison (ACL), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Ben Davies (ankle), Lucas Bergvall (ankle), Mohammed Kudus (thigh) and Rodrigo Bentancur (thigh) are all unavailable for Spurs.
Predicted line-ups for Atletico Madrid v Tottenham
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Gonzalez; Sorloth, Alvarez.
Tottenham: Vicario; Danso, Romero, Van de Ven; Porro, Palhinha, Sarr, Gray; Simons; Tel, Solanke.
Where to watch Atletico Madrid v Tottenham: TV and online streams
Atletico Madrid v Tottenham kicks off at 8pm UK time. It will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and can be streamed via Discovery Plus. Sky subscribers with a TNT package can also stream the game via Sky Go.
Stats for Atletico Madrid v Tottenham
- Atletico have only won one of their last 10 Champions League meetings with English clubs (D2 L7), beating Manchester United 1-0 in March 2022.
- Tottenham have faced Atletico just once before in European competition, beating them in the 1963 Cup Winners’ Cup final 5-1.
- Atletico have progressed from two of their three previous UChampions League last-16 ties against English clubs, beating Liverpool in 2019-20 and Manchester United in 2021-22, losing the other to Chelsea in 2020-21.
- Tottenham have only lost one of their last five Champions League meetings with Spanish opponents (W2 D2), a 2-4 home defeat to Barcelona in the 2018-19 group stage.
- Atletico have never lost a Champions League knockout stage game under Diego Simeone at either their former home, the Vicente Calderón (W7 D4), or their current home, the Metropolitano (W6 D2).
- Tottenham have won their last three Champions League games without conceding a goal (v Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt). They have never previously won four consecutive matches in the European Cup/Champions League, nor have they kept four straight clean sheets before.
- This will be Tudor’s first game as a manager in the knockout stages of the Champions League, while he has won just two of nine matches in the competition overall (D2 L5). His most recent game in the competition was a defeat in the Spanish capital, losing 0-1 at Real Madrid in charge of Juventus this season (October 2025).
Prediction for Atletico Madrid v Tottenham
Atletico Madrid
3
–
1
Tottenham
The lack of pressure may allow Spurs to play with a little more freedom in this one, but it’s still unlikely that translates to victory.
What To Do If You Have A Gambling Problem
We understand that gambling can be fun, but it is always important to gamble responsibly. If you are struggling with a gambling problem, please do not hesitate to ask for help. There are people who can help you get on the road to recovery. Below, we have listed some helpful resources to help aid you on the road to recovery.
- National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133
- GamCare: https://www.gamcare.org.uk
- GambleAware: www.gambleaware.com
