Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone don tell im players make dem no let recent praise cool dia head as dem prepare for Tuesday Champions League clash with Stuttgart. The Spanish side don win six matches straight for all competitions and dem dey chase seventh, with Alex Baena form dey give dem extra push.
But Atleti go face Stuttgart without captain Koke and defender Cristian Romero. Romero ask to come off during Atleti 1-0 win at Espanyol on Saturday, and tests show say he get small adductor strain. The injury rule am out of the trip to Germany and next weekend home match against Deportivo A Coruña.
Koke also no go make the trip. Im mother die last Tuesday, and im still dey recover from left hamstring strain wey make am miss the Espanyol game. Koke timetable to return never clear.
For better news, Johnny Cardoso train for gym on Sunday and dem include am for squad after gastroenteritis rule am out of the Espanyol match.
But Atleti record in Germany no good under Simeone. Dem don lose eight of 10 games in Germany, and dia last win there be against Bayer Leverkusen in 2017.
Stuttgart go into the match with six points from six Bundesliga games, but dem win both Champions League fixtures. Sebastian Hoeneß side beat Viking FK at home and Slovan Bratislava 3-0 away. Still, Stuttgart never beat any Spanish team in European competition; dia record na three draws and five losses.
Atleti dey second for La Liga with 22 points from nine matches, and dem get one win and one defeat in Europe this season. Dem beat Espanyol 1-0 away last time out, where Alex Baena score late winner, after 2-0 home Champions League win against Manchester United. Stuttgart lose 1-0 away to Hamburger SV last time out despite 63% possession and five shots on target.
The game at MHPArena kick off 15:00 on Tuesday 20 October. The two teams never meet competitively before, though dem draw 1-1 for friendly at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart in 2018.
