Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid come face-to-face in the Champions League once more. This is the third time in as many seasons the cross-city rivals have come together in the competition, with two of them coming in the final.
Having lost to Real Madrid in the final twice, Atletico Madrid will be pleased to have this two-legged tie to try and finally defeat their biggest rivals. This first leg will take place in the Santiago Bernabeu, the home of Real Madrid, with the second leg next week in the Vicente Calderon.
Both teams have looked good in the Champions League this season, with Atletico Madrid aiming to reach their third final in four seasons and Real Madrid hoping to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the Champions League era.
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
Champions League – Tuesday 2nd May 2017 – 8:45pm
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Draw Best Odd of: 27/10 at Ladbrokes |
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Real Madrid
Atletico MadridReal Madrid Form
Real Madrid have lost only 1 of their previous 15 games in all competitions. However, the defeat was a big one as it came at home against Barcelona and was a hugely disappointing result. A look at recent results in the Santiago Bernabeu show Real Madrid have only won 1 of their last 4 inside 90 minutes.
Zinedine Zidane’s team lost to Barcelona, went into extra-time against Bayern Munich in the Champions League having lost the 90 minutes 2-1 and were held by Atletico Madrid 1-1 in La Liga.
In the Champions League, you must go back to March 2015 to find the last time Real Madrid lost a match at home and that was 3-4 against Schalke. Real Madrid still qualified for the next round, having won the away leg of the match 2-0.
Atletico Madrid Form
Diego Simeone’s team responded to their 1-0 mid-week defeat to Villarreal by comfortably defeating Las Palmas 5-0 away from home in La Liga. That victory means it is now 15 games without defeat on the road for Atletico Madrid and they are showing the sort of form required to get a good result in the Bernabeu.
In the Champions League, Atletico Madrid have lost 1 of their previous 5 away matches, which came in the group stages against Bayern Munich. A repeat of that 1-0 defeat would be a poor result for Simeone and his team need to score at least 1 away goal to give themselves a chance to progress to the final.
Team News
Zidane will have to make do without Gareth Bale and Pepe who are both injured. Simeone has more pressing concerns, with Juanfran, Jose Gimenez and Sime Vrsaljko all out, meaning Atletico Madrid do not have a recognised right-back for this game.
However, it is unlikely Simeone is going to stray from his trusted 4-4-2 formation and Real Madrid are sure to play 4-3-3, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema leading the line for the home team.
Top Betting Tips: Away Goal Crucial for Atletico
In the previous 4 matches between these teams, there have been under 2.5 goals scored and you can get 4/5 with Ladbrokes for this match to follow suit.
Atletico Madrid have scored in 5 of their last 6 away Champions League games and will feel they need to take any away goal back to the Vicente Calderon. They have also scored in 5 of their last 6 six visits to the Bernabeu, so will fancy their chances of finding the back of the net.
In the last 4 meetings between these teams, neither have managed to score more than 1 goal and the 1-1 final score is on offer at 13/2 with William Hill. If Real Madrid are to take a lead with them into the second leg, it will be by a slender margin and you can get 13/5 with Ladbrokes for Real Madrid to win by 1 goal.