Atletico Madrid will take a three-goal lead to North London for the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. Diego Simeone’s side are in a commanding position, although they could be without one of their most important players for the second leg clash.
Atleti are already without star midfielder Pablo Barrios for the match after he suffered an injury setback earlier this month, and joining him on the absentees list could be Jan Oblak. The 33-year-old goalkeeper missed the victory over Getafe on Saturday, and according to Marca, there are doubts about whether he will be able to return in time to travel to North London.
Oblak suffered a muscle strain in the lead-up to the weekend, and Atleti are taking a very cautious approach with his recovery. They want to avoid any risk of an aggravation, which is why he sat out Sunday’s training session.
Atleti have a very capable replacement at their disposal
Oblak is not ruled out of the match against Spurs, but his chances of being involved are not looking good at this stage. If he does miss out, it would mean that Juan Musso retains his place in between the sticks, following his impressive performance in the victory over Getafe on Saturday.
There is no doubt that Wednesday will be a tricky evening for Atleti. Spurs have little to lose after their 5-2 defeat at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano earlier this week, and they will go hard to get back into the tie over the remaining 90 minutes. Whichever goalkeeper plays will be sure to be busy, and while Simeone would prefer to have Oblak at his disposal, he will have a lot of faith in Musso to keep the Premier League side at bay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
