UCL R16: Manchester United vs. Atletico Madrid Preview
Manchester United will be looking to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League when they welcome Atletico Madrid to Old Trafford for the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday night.
The contest is delicately poised at 1-1 following the first leg at Wanda Metropolitano, with Anthony Elanga coming off the bench to register for Man United after Joao Felix had sent Atletico ahead.
Man United were far from their best in the first leg on February 23, with Atletico in charge of the contest for long spells, but Elanga came off the bench to score a leveller in the 80th minute, meaning that any win for the Red Devils on Tuesday evening would see them advance to the final eight of the European Cup.
Confidence would have been low had Man United entered the second leg off the back of their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend, but Ralf Rangnick’s side were back in league action against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, recording a 3-2 win over the North London club to boost their top-four hopes.
The 20-time English champions have won seven of their previous 11 round-of-16 ties, but this will be their first meeting with Atletico in England since November 1991, when the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their second-round contest in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
Atletico, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday’s contest off the back of a 2-1 victory over Cadiz in La Liga on Friday, meaning that the capital giants have now been victorious in their last four league matches, which has left them inside the top four at a key stage of the campaign.
Diego Simeone’s side have triumphed in four of their last five games in all competitions, but they are not in a title race this season, so their only chance of securing silverware this season is in the Champions League.
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Atletico were far from convincing in the group stage of this season’s European Cup, winning just two of their six matches, but a total of seven points saw them finish second in the section, and they were impressive for long spells of the first leg against Man United last month.
The Madrid giants lost to Chelsea in last season’s round of 16, but they have reached the quarter-finals or better in five of their last eight Champions League campaigns under Simeone, so it would be fair to say that the club know what it takes to operate in the latter stages of the competition.
Atletico have been victorious in five of their previous eight round-of-16 ties, while they have actually won nine of their 12 two-legged knockout contests with English opposition, but the club lost twice against Liverpool in the group stage of this season’s Champions League.
Team Form
Manchester United Champions League form:
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Manchester United form (all competitions):
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Atletico Madrid Champions League form:
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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
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Team News
Man United will again be without Mason Greenwood due to a club suspension, but Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay could all come back into the side here.
Fernandes was unavailable against Tottenham through COVID-19, while Shaw missed out for the same reason, but the pair have been back in training ahead of the match; McTominay should also overcome the calf problem that forced him to miss out in Saturday’s late kickoff.
Rangnick has big decisions to make all over the field; Ronaldo will lead the line, while Jadon Sancho is a certain starter in an attacking area, but the return of McTominay could see Paul Pogba move out to the left, with Fernandes operating in the area behind the centre-forward.
Diogo Dalot is likely to hold off competition from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Victor Lindelof to start at right-back, while Marcus Rashford is expected to drop down to the bench for the home side.
As for Atletico, Yannick Carrasco will again miss out through suspension, while Matheus Cunha, Daniel Wass, Sime Vrsaljko and Thomas Lemar are out through injury.
Mario Hermoso, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Jose Gimenez had also been viewed as huge injury doubts, but the trio have been named in the travelling squad and are in contention to play.
Koke made a timely return in the league on Friday, meanwhile, and the Spaniard is expected to start at Old Trafford.
Simeone has big decisions to make further forward, and Angel Correa could get the nod alongside Felix, with Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez potentially starting on the bench.
Marcos Llorente, meanwhile, will seemingly play as the right-sided wing-back, with Rodrigo De Paul operating alongside Koke and Hector Herrera in the middle of midfield.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Telles; Fred, McTominay; Sancho, Fernandes, Pogba; Ronaldo
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Savic, Felipe, Reinildo; Llorente, De Paul, Koke, Herrera, Lodi; Felix, Correa
Prediction
Manchester United 2-1 Atletico Madrid
