Diego Simeone insisted Atletico Madrid's excellent away form in LaLiga has been forgotten ahead of their trip to Stuttgart in the Champions League on Tuesday. 

Atletico have made an excellent start to their league campaign, taking 22 points from their opening nine games, though they are still five adrift of league leaders Barcelona. 

Simeone's side arrive into this clash fresh from a 1-0 victory over Espanyol, with Alex Baena's 89th-minute winner making it four wins from their first five league away games. 

Their only top-flight defeat on the road this season came on September 5 against Athletic Club (3-0), though they were beaten on MD1 of the Champions League by Liverpool.

Atletico have also lost each of their last five away games against German sides in the Champions League, as well as eight of their last nine trips overall (W1). The only exception in this run was a 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in February 2017 (last 16).

They have also failed to win their third group/league phase game in the Champions League since a 1-0 win over Leverkusen in 2019-20, losing on MD3 in four of the last six seasons (D2), something Simeone is aiming to change. 

Simeone's side won 2-0 against Manchester United on MD2 but they have not kept consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League since February 2020, and the Argentine is expecting another difficult test for his players against a Stuttgart team that have won their opening two matches in Europe. 

"The truth is that I have forgotten everything that happened before," Simeone said. "They will quickly forget what they are praising and will value us for what they do tomorrow.

"We're facing a tough match against a physically strong team, one that clearly understands the concept of pressing in the opponent's half, almost always man-to-man, and that drops very deep when it has to defend."

Back to work Focused on Stuttgart https://t.co/qFxP07pEcq

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) October 18, 2026

Atletico's travelling squad for their trip to Germany was named earlier on Monday, with Cristian Romero the most notable absentee in Simeone's ranks. 

Romero, who joined Atletico from Tottenham this summer, has sustained a muscle injury and has not been risked, while club captain Koke is also unavailable. 

"The importance of Cuti is clear, but the whole makes us all better," Simeone added on Romero's absence.

"We are not going to go out of this line, the team is more important than the individual."

Atletico have never won the Champions League but have been close on several occasions, losing in the final twice in 2013-14 and 2015-16, both against rivals Real Madrid. 

They reached the semi-finals of the competition last season, losing to beaten finalists Arsenal 2-1 on aggregate, and defender David Hanko believes their near-miss in Europe in 2025-26 will only help improve their chances this year. 

"The feeling from last season is that we were so close to achieving so much: the cup, the Champions League," Hanko said.

"We were left with the feeling of reaching the end but not quite making it. We're using that experience to improve this year."