Sports
Atletico Madrid set sights on Europa League semis
Madrid, April 4 (IANS) Atletico Madrid aim to take a big step towards the semifinals of the Europa League on Thursday when they entertain Sporting Club de Portugal in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
The last surviving Spanish club in the Europa League aims to fill the 80,000 capacity Wanda for the game and tickets are on sale at low prices, with just 6,000 left to sell by Wednesday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.
Coach Diego Simeone will have fewer problems in fielding a side than he had for the weekend’s 1-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna, when he had just 13 first-team players available.
Antoine Griezmann is likely to start after being suspended in the domestic competition, while right backs Juanfran and Vrsaljko should be available after training with the rest of their teammates on Tuesday, although Jose Gimenez, who was injured during the last international break, has not recovered from his muscle problem.
One issue for Atletico is that Sunday afternoon sees them visit local rivals Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, but with Atletico nine points behind La Liga leaders FC Barcelona with just 8 games left in the season, Simeone will probably not be holding anything back on Thursday, which offers a more realistic chance of winning a trophy.
Sporting travel to Spain likely to field their strongest possible side with central midfielder William Carvalho available after not being risked against Braga at the weekend.
Sporting boss Jorge Jesus will no doubt be warning over the need for control in Madrid given that six of his side (Coentrao, Bruno Fernandes, Battaglia, Gleson, Acuna and Bas Dosi) are just one yellow card off suspension and a booking would see them miss next week’s return leg in Lisbon.
–IANS
tri/mr
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.
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