City to stand firm at the Wanda
Atletico Madrid welcome Manchester City to the Wanda Metropolitano 1-0 down on aggregate on Wednesday evening.
The Mattress Makers will be relishing the opportunity to spring a surprise and make amends for a disappointing defeat to Real Mallorca at the weekend.
Diego Simeone’s men stood firm but were undone once to see City take an advantage into the second leg, it will be very interesting to see how they spring out and look to take the game to Pep Guardiola’s men.
City played out an enthralling 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, a result that keeps the Reds at bay although having led twice they may have been a little frustrated at full time.
Background
Atleti could have a slight fitness advantage with an extra day to recover from the weekend, but also a less demanding match.
City’s squad is outstanding and therefore Guardiola can rotate without the levels dropping too much, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan were not heavily involved on Sunday.
Jack Grealish also did not come on until late in the piece and could be set to feature heavily in the Spanish capital.
This is not the Atleti of old sadly, the attacking talent is there but the defensive solidity has not been what we have become accustomed to this season and they may struggle when attempting to break out of their shape to attack the visitors.
Goals?
City could lean on their strong defence if necessary, they are jaw-dropping going forward and it can often go under the radar that they are also world class defending their own box.
Atleti have scored in eight of ten.
Atleti have conceded in six of ten.
Atleti have seen both teams score in four of ten.
Atleti have seen over 2.5 goals in five of ten.
City have scored in eight of ten.
City have conceded in six of ten.
City have seen both teams score in four of ten.
City have seen over 2.5 goals in four of ten.
Atleti have good pedigree in the Champions League, but the visitors will know that they can retain possession to control the game and Guardiola will be expecting to take a firm grip from early on in the second leg.
Expect Atleti to be resilient, but they are unlikely to have the quality to turn things around.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
0-0, a decent CL double header.