Welcome relief or an unnecessary distraction? While embroiled in a relegation battle back home, yet to win a Premier League game in 2026, having finished fourth in the gigantic league table, Tottenham Hotspur will compete in the Champions League round of 16. The Lilywhites take on Atlético Madrid, first at the Metropolitano on Tuesday, before the return leg in North London eight nights later.
Amazingly, these two clubs have only ever met once before. This came in Rotterdam 63 years ago, with Bill Nicholson's side prevailing 5-1 in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, with Jimmy Greaves and Terry Dyson both scoring braces at De Kuip.
It is unlikely that Tottenham will reach this year's final, with los Colchoneros overwhelming favourites to set up a quarter-final date with either Barcelona or Newcastle next month. However, if Spurs are to spring a massive surprise in the Spanish capital, backed by 3,476 brave supporters traveling with them, here are three players Igor Tudor simply must select.
3 unbenchable players if Tottenham want to flip the script against Atlético Madrid
Cristian Romero
Following the recent defeat at Craven Cottage, Tudor said that his team lack when it comes to attack, midfield, defence and brain, so all fine then. In all seriousness, centre-back is a major issue, but he should finally be able to deploy his best partnership in Madrid.
Cristian Romero's four-match domestic suspension is now over, albeit Micky van de Ven will not be alongside him at Anfield come Sunday, following a costly red card of his own against Crystal Palace last Thursday. Nevertheless, their partnership can be rekindled in the Champions League.
For so long, these two were the bedrock of Tottenham, not losing any of their first ten matches together, albeit Spurs are currently winless in eight when both have started. Nevertheless, given that Radu Drăgușin and Kevin Danso are the alternatives, Romero simply must come in, both for his quality as well as his ability to match Atleti when it comes to fight, determination and other intangibles.
Archie Gray
While basically no Tottenham player is earning any praise right now, there is one notable exception. This trip to Madrid will be Archie Gray's final appearance as a teenager but, despite his youth, he has been a key figure since arriving. Ange Postecoglou was forced to use him at centre-back for prolonged periods of last season, while he's regularly been deployed in both full-back roles, given the ongoing injury crisis.
On Thursday, Tudor surprised us all by having Pedro Porro as part of the back three and Gray in at right-wing-back. Despite this, Alasdair Gold of Football London wrote that he was Tottenham's "best player on the night by a mile", a view unanimously shared, even if it was a low bar.
So, not only must Gray start at the Metropolitano, this simply has to be in central midfield. None of Pape Matar Sarr, João Palhinha, Yves Bissouma or Conor Gallagher, facing his former club, appear capable of passing the ball forwards, so Gray must be made a central figure for occasions when Diego Simeone's side drop back and defend compactly.
Dominic Solanke
On position Tudor does have options, but there is only one choice to make, is centre-forward. The only Tottenham player seemingly capable of doing anything in the attacking half is Dominic Solanke, who bagged his fifth goal of the campaign against Crystal Palace, albeit that joy was short-lived.
Players | Goals | Goals-per-90 |
|---|---|---|
Dominic Solanke | 5 | 0.63 |
Richarlison | 9 | 0.41 |
Brennan Johnson | 4 | 0.39 |
Ben Davies | 1 | 0.36 |
Mathys Tel | 3 | 0.27 |
Cristian Romero | 6 | 0.23 |
Randal Kolo Muani | 4 | 0.23 |
Micky van de Ven | 7 | 0.20 |
João Palhinha | 5 | 0.18 |
Mohammed Kudus | 3 | 0.14 |
Solanke has only been able to accumulate 714 minutes of action this season following ankle surgery, not featuring at all between 23 August and 10 January. Thus, he boasts the best goals-per-90 ratio at the club, albeit this statistic is alarming. Brennan Johnson, ranked third, now plays for Crystal Palace, while fourth-placed Ben Davies has scored only once this season, netting only ten times since signing 12 years ago, so he certainly isn't a reliable source.
Put succinctly, Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Richarlison is just a pretty underwhelming set of attackers, so if Spurs are going to score in Madrid, it's likely to be Solanke who is responsible.