Preview: Atlético Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur

Ah, the Champions League Round of 16. The stage where Europe’s elite separate the wheat from the chaff, and where Tottenham Hotspur usually discovers new and creative ways to set their own house on fire. This Tuesday, the Riyadh Air Metropolitano plays host to a tactical clash so jarring it might actually break the laws of physics.

Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid comes into this sitting comfortably as the third-best team in Spain. They remain the footballing equivalent of a root canal: painful, agonizingly long, and you will almost certainly regret the experience. They have conceded only 25 goals in 27 matches because attacking against them is like trying to solve a Rubik's cube while someone screams at your shins. Antoine Griezmann is still there, aging like a fine wine while the rest of the squad looks like they’ve been left in the Madrid sun for three weeks too long.

Then we have Spurs. A miracle of modern science. Currently languishing in 16th place in the Premier League—YES, SIXTEENTH—they are somehow the 4th seed in this competition. Only Tottenham could be three points clear of the relegation zone while simultaneously masquerading as a European heavyweight. It is the absolute peak of being SPURSY: beating Real Madrid on a Tuesday and then getting dismantled by a team whose stadium is basically a converted car park on Saturday.

Ange Postecoglou will undoubtedly roll up with his suicide high line, essentially inviting the most cynical team in history to counter-attack them into oblivion. Expect Son Heung-min to carry the weight of North London on his back like a man who forgot to check the exit clause in his contract.

EXPECT 90 minutes of Atlético players falling over like they’ve been struck by lightning the moment a Spurs player breathes on them. Tottenham will dominate possession, look incredibly "brave" for twenty minutes, and then inevitably succumb to a 89th-minute header from a corner that shouldn't have been awarded. It is the history of the Tottenham.

Prediction: Atlético Madrid 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur