Atletico Madrid playmaker Koke is looking forward to facing former teammate and Spain countrymen Rodri in the Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City, with the Rojiblancos star confirming that he has spoken with his opponent before the match.
Over the next week and a half, the two sides will clash in a two-legged match, reuniting the latter with the club he left to join Pep Guardiola’s side in 2019.
Koke believes he expects a “weird” homecoming when he returns to Madrid, and that the Premier League heavyweights will not have an easy path to the last four.
Rodri will be hoping to inflict loss on his former club when they meet later this week, but he and his City teammates will be up against a Rojiblancos side looking for a second consecutive Manchester scalp.
Atletico Madrid will remain a terrifying possibility and a significant threat to Guardiola’s chances of moving his side one step further than last season, having outboxed a washed-out Manchester United to make the quarter-finals despite their domestic underperformance this season.
The first leg takes place on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium, with the return match taking place a week later on Wednesday in Madrid.
Koke on Rodri ahead of the UCL clash
When asked if he had discussed the match with his former clubmate, Koke replied with a smile, “Of course.” “[We discussed it] in the national team.
“He conceded to me that it would be a difficult match. ‘We [have] many games like this in the Premier League,’ he remarked. ‘Yeah, but Atletico Madrid isn’t in the Premier League,’ I cautioned him!
“He informed me that playing at Wanda Metropolitano would be uncomfortable for him because he is a big Atletico Madrid fan. I’d already promised him that we’d win and that he already knows what Atleti is like.”
Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid
After defeating one Manchester team this season, Atletico Madrid will travel to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night to face Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
It will be the first competitive meeting between the two clubs, but Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone have met three times before, with the Argentine coach leading his side to a Champions League semi-final victory over Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the 2015/16 season.
Guardiola will have another difficult test, this time with a weakened backline. Kyle Walker is in the final game of his three-game suspension, while Ruben Dias is out with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, John Stones is ready to return to the starting lineup after being selected on the bench against Burnley after withdrawing from England duty as a precaution.
Jose Maria Gimenez is out for Atletico Madrid after injuring himself in the win over Alaves. Yannick Carrasco is also serving his final match of a suspension, and Hector Herrera is out with an injury, although Koke and Angel Correa have returned after serving domestic bans.
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