"Alvarez's front-line partner is Lee Kang-in": Spanish media preview, again "likely to start in UCL"... Stuttgart 'ready for bombardment'

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Lee Kang-in (25, Atletico Madrid) will lead the charge in hunting for his first away win in the "war of stars." Local media are already predicting he will start for the third consecutive match.

Atletico will face Stuttgart at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, at 4 a.m. (KST) on the 21st in the third match of the league phase of the 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League (UCL).

Ahead of the decisive match, Manager Diego Simeone finalized the 24th-man away squad, which includes Lee Kang-in. Manager Simeone appears set to make changes to his starting lineup. Key midfielder Koke and defender Cristian Romero were left out of the away squad due to leg muscle injuries. In their place, Jonny Cardoso was added.

The early momentum between the two teams is diverging. Atletico has recorded one win and one loss (1-2 loss to Liverpool, 2-0 win against Manchester United) in this season's UCL. In La Liga, they are running second behind leader Barcelona. On the other hand, Stuttgart has secured two consecutive UCL wins (3-1 win over Viking, 3-0 win against Slovan Bratislava), but sits in 13th place in the Bundesliga.

Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo predicted Lee Kang-in's starting appearance on the 20th. The media forecasted, "Julián Alvarez will lead the attack, with Lee Kang-in positioned up front alongside Jonathan David." Alexander Sørloth and Ademola Lookman were categorized as second-half substitution options.

Stuttgart, led by Manager Sebastian Hoeness, is expected to deploy a 'back four tactic.' The attack will be driven by Deniz Undav and Ermedin Demirović.

The key to the match lies in Lee Kang-in's ability to produce attacking points. Lee Kang-in started both his recent Champions League match against Manchester United (61 minutes) and La Liga match against [aespa] (62 minutes). However, he came off the field early in the second half in both games. Local media are assessing that "Lee Kang-in, wearing number 7, must record direct goals and assists to prove his competitiveness."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original