Tottenham Hotspur’s nightmarish season continues with a visit from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night. This second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, this match is just a mere formality, as Spurs are down 2-5 on aggregate, and are basically done. Plus their injury list is just as long, if not longer, than it has been all season long. So we’ll cover the current statuses of Joao Palhinha, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, Conor Gallagher, Yves Bissouma and more in this preview.
One positive for Spurs is the momentum of the draw with Liverpool yesterday. That had to have felt like a win for them.
UEFA Champions League Round of 16
Tottenham Hotspur at Atletico Madrid Leg 2 of 2
Tie Aggregate: Atletico Madrid leads 5-2
Kickoff: Wed March 18, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK
Google Result Probability for 90 Min: Atletico Madrid 37% Draw 25% Tottenham Hotspur 38%
Tottenham Team News
The result, at the very least, grants interim boss Igor Tudor more time.
Let’s start with Romero and Palhinha, who are still recovering from that scary looking clashing of heads last week. Both face a late fitness test here, with Tudor saying on Friday: “I think they will be back for sure for Forest, maybe even for the UCL, I don’t know exactly.”
Also facing a late fitness test, in order to make the squad here are Conor Gallagher (who is battling a fever) and Destiny Udogie (recovering from a long-term thigh injury). Micky van de Ven returns from being suspended against Liverpool while Richarlison is suspended for this one.
As for Bissouma, he has a muscular injury, and thus joins the long list of Tottenham walking wounded. That group currently includes Wilson Odobert (knee), Lucas Bergvall (ankle), Ben Davies (ankle), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Rodrigo Bentancur (thigh), Dejan Kulusevski (knee) and James Maddison (knee).
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.