UCL Match Preview, Round Of 16: Atletico Madrid Vs Inter Milan
Written By Onyeka Daniel
In the Spanish capital, it will be Atletico Madrid up against Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium, with Polish Referee, S. Marcinak in charge of proceedings from the centre. With a place in the next round up for grabs, it promises to be an exciting encounter, owing to the result from the trust leg where Inter take a slender one goal lead.
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For the Los Rojiblancos, it will be a ninth UCL round of 16 appearance across the past 11 campaigns, and they will need to overcome the defeat from the first-leg to make it to the quarter-final of this season’s edition. However, form isn’t on the side of Diego Simeone’s men to achieve that target with five defeats from their last eight competitive games, including a 2-0 loss to relegation-threatened Cádiz in La Liga last weekend.
But they can take confidence from the fact the Metropolitano Stadium has been a near-fortress for them in recent times. They have lost just once and drawn obce at this venue across 20 competitive games this season, including three wins in the group stage of this competition.
In stark contrast to Atletico, Inter head to the Spanish capital in buoyant mood as they have won 14 and drawn one of their last 15 matches across all competitions, including a slender 1-0 away victory over Bologna in Serie A last weekend. Simone Inzaghi opted to rest a few of his star names, including top scorer and captain Lautaro Martinez.
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But the Nerazzurri came out on top against their Champions League-chasing counterparts courtesy of a header from Yann Bisseck towards the end of the first half and it was enough to guarantee the maximum points.
The Nerazzurri will be confident of securing their spot in the quarter-finals having progressed from seven of their last eight Champions League knockout ties after winning the first leg, but success against Atleti is not a given as the Nerazzurri have failed to win any of their last 10 visits to Spain in Europe’s elite club competition.
Style Of Play
While both teams play the 3-5-2 formation, this is where the similarities end. For Simeone, going defensive and looking for openings to counter attack is the go to option, but for this game that they’re in need of a goal to be even, they might be more proactive than the first leg.
And this might present Inter with the perfect opportunity to strike. For Inzaghi, his team is comfortable in both phases of the game, depending on which opponent they’re facing, so the home side will have to be wary of leaving their defense open while going in search of that goal.
Recent Form
It’s hasn’t really been an excellent run so far for Atleti in their last 20 games played across competitions. They’ve 9 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses. After that loss to Inter, they’ve just one win, with one draw and two losses (Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey and against Cadiz over the weekend in the League). For Inter, they’ve an almost perfect record with 17 wins from 20 games played, 2 draws and just one loss.
Head To Head
The first leg was their first meeting in the UEFA Champions League, but they first met in the UEFA Super Cup in 2010 after Inter’s treble season and the La Liga side were victorious, winning 2-0 while Inter got their revenge 8 years later, but this time, in a friendly game that ended 1-0 in the ICC pre-season games.
Players To Watch
The news that Antoine Griezmann is back in training will surely be a source of joy for Diego Simeone and with the presence of Alvaro Morata too, they represent their best bet for goals in this encounter, against one of the meanest defense in the whole of Europe. Inter skipper, Lautaro should lead the line alongside Marcus Thuram in attack with support from the likes of Hakan Calhanoglu, Nicolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Atletico Madrid Possible Starting Lineup: Oblak; Molina, Savic, Witsel, Hermoso, Lino; Saul, De Paul, Koke; Depay, Morata
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Inter Milan Possible Starting Lineup: Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Injuries And Suspensions
Atletico will be without Cesar Azpilicueta, Jose Gimenez, Thomas Lemar and Vitolo. For Inter, they will be missing the likes of Marko Arnautovic, who scored the only goal in the first leg, Carlos Augusto, Stefano Sensi and Juan Cuadrado through injuries.
Verdict
Owing to the result in the first leg, the home side have to be more adventurous than they were in the first leg of they hope to cancel the goal advantage Inter has. Should probably end in a draw, unless Inter can be more prolific than they were in the first leg (0-0 or 02).
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