Atletico Madrid welcomes Manchester City, Premier League champions, to Spain in their key UEFA Champions League match.
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A place in the semi-finals is on the line, with only a goal separating the two teams, ensuring an exciting match.
Atletico Madrid is coming off a 1-0 loss to relegation-threatened Mallorca heading into the crucial second leg. Mallorca achieved a double over Los Rojiblancos, denying them the chance to move up to second place in the table.
Manchester City, on the other hand, had a crucial match this weekend against Liverpool, which might decide the Premier League title. After all, was said and done, the Cityzens kept their one-point advantage at the top of the table with a 2-2 draw. With seven games remaining in the Premier League season, Guardiola’s side has a strong chance to defend their crown.
While City is aiming for a treble, Atletico’s only chance of winning a trophy is in the Champions League. Simeone has previously guided the team to two Champions League finals, and he may be able to use that experience against City.
Team News
In the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, Diego Simeone took a defensive stance against Manchester City. Despite the fact that he was heavily chastised, his efforts almost worked. Kevin De Bruyne broke the deadlock after Pep Guardiola’s side had been held at bay for 70 minutes.
Surprisingly, Atletico had no shots on goal in the encounter and only had 29% possession. They could use a similar strategy in the second leg, but they won’t be able to do so for long because they need at least one goal to stay in the tie. Because the Champions League no longer has an away-goal rule, the match will go to extra time if the Rojiblancos win the second leg by one goal.
Yannick Carrasco, who has completed his one-match suspension, will play for Simeone. Hector Herrera and Jose Gimenez, on the other hand, will continue to be absent from the Argentine tactician’s squad.
Stefan Savic, Felipe, and Reinildo Mandava are anticipated to form a three-man backline, with Marcos Llorente and Carrasco playing as wingers. Rodrigo De Paul will seek to lead the squad forward, while Geoffrey Kondogbia and Koke will keep the fort in the middle of the park for the hosts. For the Spanish champions, Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix will play together upfront.
Key Stats
Atletico Madrid and Manchester City have only met once before, in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. The Premier League side triumphed 1-0.
Manchester City has kept clean sheets in all three of their Champions League games this season.
In Atletico Madrid’s recent Champions League encounters, there haven’t been many goals scored. In five of their last six encounters in the competition, they have scored less than 2.5 goals per match.
Manchester City defeated Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid 2-1 in the opening leg of their Round of 16 encounters the previous time they visited Madrid.
In the UEFA Champions League, Atletico Madrid has gone winless in their last seven home games (D4 L3).
Possible Line ups
Possible Atletico Madrid Lineup (3-5-2): Oblak; Savic, Felipe, Mandava; Llorente, De Paul, Kondogbia, Koke, Carrasco; Griezmann, Felix
Possible Manchester City Lineup (4-3-3): Moraes; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling.
Prediction
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Manchester City is a Premier League club based in
When Atletico Madrid is expected to be down and out, they are the most dangerous. As a result, they could approach the match differently than they did in the first leg. At the very least, they should score a goal. Manchester City, on the other hand, is too good to miss out and might score twice to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Who do you think will win this game?
