Atletico Madrid vs. Tottenham: Igor Tudor’s side out to achieve first-time clean sheet feat in Champions League clas

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to achieve a first-time clean sheet feat when they travel to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.

The North Londoners are down in the dumps as they have failed to win any of their 11 Premier League matches in 2026 and are hovering just one point above the relegation zone heading into the final few months of the campaign.

In stark contrast, Spurs secured fourth place in the 36-team League Phase table in the Champions League after accumulating 17 points from eight games (W5 D2 L1).

Prior to the sacking of Thomas Frank, Tottenham won their final three League Phase fixtures against Slavia Prague (3-0), Borussia Dortmund (2-0) and Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0), most recently beating the latter at the end of January.

Spurs head into Tuesday’s clash with Atletico having never previously won four successive games in the European Cup/Champions League, nor have they kept four straight clean sheets before.

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Tottenham will be buoyed by the fact that they have only lost one of their last five Champions League meetings with Spanish opponents (W2 D2), a 4-2 home defeat to Barcelona in the 2018-19 group stage.

However, it is worth noting that Atletico have never lost a Champions League knockout stage match under head coach Diego Simeone at either their former home, the Vicente Calderon (W7 D4), or their current stadium, the Riyadh Air Metropolitano (W6 D2).

The La Liga giants have also advanced from two of their three previous UCL last-16 ties against English teams, beating Liverpool in 2019-20 and Manchester United in 2021-22, losing the other to Chelsea in 2020-21.

Igor Tudor is preparing for his first Champions League game as interim head coach of Spurs and his first match in the competition since losing 1-0 at Real Madrid as Juventus boss in October 2025.

The 47-year-old will be able to use captain Cristian Romero for the first time since his arrival, with the centre-back available to start on Tuesday after serving a four-match domestic suspension.

"He missed a lot. He was also not feeling good to not be able to help the team. Now he's back,” Tudor told reporters at a pre-match press conference on Monday.

Spurs receive Romero, Spence defensive boost before Atletico clash

“He was working these two, three weeks a lot, even with the fitness coach, he did separate running sessions to be in better shape now that he's back. We are happy. I'm sure that tomorrow he'll be a leader like he's always been."

Spurs have also been boosted by the return to fitness of full-back Djed Spence, but January recruit Souza and midfielder Yves Bissouma are both ineligible after being left out of the club’s updated Champions League squad.

“We are happy that Romero is back, Djed is back, Bissouma and Souza are not because of the rules of the Champions League, so the players are coming back, that's important,” said Tudor.

"It's the first time since I'm here and we'll have, let's say, available the players to play in defence, the players who usually play. So, in all three games, we missed the players on their positions, and we missed the players who are usually playing.

“Beautiful game to play tomorrow, a totally different competition than the Premier League. There is a good experience from this season, past games. So, let's see what happens tomorrow."

Tudor has also outlined his priority at a time when Spurs are still competing in Europe as well as battling to avoid relegation from the Premier League.