Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres. (Photo : Getty Images)
English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur will face La Liga powerhouse Atletico Madrid in an Australia leg match of the 2016 International Champions Cup to be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Tottenham and Atleti are two of the best football clubs in their respective domestic leagues and they are going to test each other this time in a preseason friendly match to better prepare them for the coming term next month.
The Spurs completed their first match in the 2016 ICC with a 1-2 defeat to Italian Serie A champions Juventus on Tuesday also at the same venue, as per Goal.
A sixth-minute goal by Juve striker Paulo Dybala opened the match's scoring while newly-acquired center back from Bayern Munich, Medhi Benatia, doubled the lead of the Old Lady eight minutes later off an assist by another newcomer, midfielder Miralem Pjanic, who was acquired from Roma last month.
Argentine winger Erik Lamela scored the lone goal for head coach Mauricio Pochettino's side, who also featured their newly-signed players Dutch forward Vincent Janssen and Kenyan midfielder Vincent Wanyama.
Meanwhile, Atleti's most recent match was a 2-0 friendly win over Segunda Division club CD Numancia at the Estadio Municipal de El Burgo de Osma last Sunday, via the A-League's official website.
Spanish striker Fernando Torres, who will suit up in this game versus Tottenham, opened the scoring at the 35th before an own goal doubled it early after the restart.
It was the first preseason game of manager Diego Simeone's squad as Torres said that they have to "train with intensity, play with intensity" because "every game is important."
Torres also admitted his excitement about visiting Australia and their Australian fans for the first time.
"It's the first time Atletico de Madrid is going to Australia, it's my first time as well, so I'm really excited," said Torres. "I've been looking forward to going on holidays many times and in the end I didn't go, so it's nice to have this opportunity to go there."
The predicted result is a 3-1 rout for Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Vorm; Trippier, Carter-Vickers, Ball, Miller; Mason, Wanyama; Son, Carroll, Chadli; Janssen
Atletico Madrid starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Oblak; Luis, Godin, Vrsaljko, Hernandez; Tiago, Gabi, Niguez, Partey; Torres, Borre
