Tottenham Hotspur will have the Herculean task of overturning a massive deficit when they host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie on Wednesday.
Spurs, who are currently on an eight-match winless streak across all competitions, suffered a 5-2 defeat last week in Madrid.
Atletico, meanwhile, will set their sights on extending their winning streak to four games.
Read our Tottenham Hotspur vs Atletico Madrid prediction, preview and betting tips. You can also check out our Today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Atletico Madrid key stats
- Six of Tottenham’s last eight matches produced at least five cards.
- Spurs conceded first in seven of their last eight games.
- Atletico Madrid opened the scoring in five of their last six matches.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Atletico Madrid preview: Can depleted Spurs make history?
| Tottenham Hotspur | vs | Atletico Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| 16th (Premier League) | Position | 3rd (La Liga) |
| 30 | Points | 57 |
| 40 | Goals For | 47 |
| 47 | Goals Against | 25 |
| 7 | Clean Sheets | 12 |
| 20th | Home Rank | 2nd |
| 9th | Away Rank | 6th |
It is worth mentioning that Atletico Madrid have never squandered a three-goal advantage in European competition.
The most significant collapse of the Diego Simeone era came in 2019, when they travelled to Turin with a 2-0 lead over Juventus, only to be sent crashing out by a clinical Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick.
Tottenham lost their last four two-legged ties in UEFA competition.
Interestingly, Tottenham’s greatest-ever European escape came during that same 2018/19 season. While Atletico were crumbling in Turin, Spurs were busy producing the 'Miracle of Amsterdam' to overturn a three-goal aggregate deficit against Ajax.
Coincidentally, that journey ended in a final played at the Wanda Metropolitano - the very same stadium, now known as the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, where they suffered last week’s 5-2 humbling.
Tottenham are struggling with injuries, with most of the team's midfielders on the sidelines at the moment. In midfield, Spurs are currently missing James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Joao Palhinha, Yves Bissouma, and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Spurs are unbeaten in their last 24 UEFA home matches (W20 D4), and they have won all four this season without conceding a goal.
In attack, the hosts will have to do without Wilson Odobert due to injury, and Richarlison through suspension, while defenders Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero are also unavailable with injury problems.
Despite the many injury challenges in the team, Igor Tudor’s available troops are expected to give their all in front of the home supporters on Wednesday night.
Similarly, Atletico Madrid have some injury problems, with first-choice goalkeeper Jan Oblak recently joining Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo Mendoza on the sidelines.
Los Colchoneros did much of the work in the tie last Tuesday, but the visitors are not expected to sit back and watch a highly depleted Tottenham Hotspur dictate the tempo of the game. Atleti will be coming to London to get the job done, with their forwards eager to get their names on the scoresheet.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Atletico Madrid form guide & betting tips
| Tottenham Hotspur | vs | Atletico Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| L-L-L-L-D | Form | W-L-W-W-W |
| 6 | Goals For | 10 |
| 15 | Goals Against | 7 |
| L-W-W-W-L | Champions League form | D-L-D-W-W |
Whispers Predicts: Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Atletico Madrid
At 2.63, Tottenham Hotspur are slightly favoured by the bookies ahead of this clash.
However, Tudor's side have a long list of injuries, and considering their eight-game winless streak, we fancy Atletico Madrid at 2.64.
Also, while Atletico Madrid drew first blood in five of their last six games, Spurs conceded first in seven of their last eight matches.
On that note, Atletico Madrid to score first can be backed at 1.90.
> BTTS - Yes at 1.62 | Likelihood: Probable
> Over 3.5 goals at 2.80 | Likelihood: Possible
> Match result - Atletico Madrid at 2.64 | Likelihood: Possible
> Atletico Madrid & BTTS - Yes at 4.50 | Likelihood: Possible
> Correct score: 1-1 at 27.00 | Likelihood: Outsider