Atletico Madrid will be bidding to bounce back from their shock La Liga defeat to Leganes when they resume their Champions League campaign with a contest against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night.
Diego Simeone's side are 11th in the Champions League table, one point behind eighth-placed Lille, while Leverkusen are fourth, with the German outfit picking up 13 points from their six matches in this season's competition.
Match preview
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Atletico brought a stunning 15-game winning run into their clash with Leganes, but they were undone by Borja Jimenez's side, with their best run in the club's history finally being brought to a close.
Simeone's team remain top of the La Liga table and are very much in a title race this term, but the Red and Whites have work to do in the Champions League, sitting 11th in the table, boasting 12 points from their six matches.
Atletico have won four times and lost twice in the league phase of the Champions League, which has left them one point off eighth-placed Lille, who occupy the final automatic qualification position at this moment in time.
The Red and Whites have won three and lost three of their previous 10 matches with Leverkusen, and it was 2-2 when the two teams last locked horns in the group stage of the 2022-23 Champions League in Madrid.
Atletico have an excellent home record against German opposition in Europe, winning 17 and losing just three of 25 such fixtures, while they have been victorious in seven of their last eight home Champions League games.
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Leverkusen, meanwhile, have 13 points from their six matches in this season's competition courtesy of a record of four wins, one draw and one defeat, scoring 12 times and conceding just five in the process.
Xabi Alonso's side are fourth in the division, level on points with eighth-placed Lille, so a lot could change in the penultimate matchday, and there is no downplaying the importance of this match for both sides.
Leverkusen will enter the contest off the back of a 3-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, which made it 12 straight wins in all competitions, with the reigning German champions in excellent form.
Alonso's team are second in the Bundesliga table, four points behind the leaders Bayern Munich, and they will fancy their chances of beating Sparta Prague at home on matchday six.
Leverkusen have only won three of their previous 21 matches away from home against Spanish opposition, while they have not reached the knockout round of the Champions League since 2016-17, so there is plenty on the line on Tuesday night.
Team News
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Atletico will again be without the services of Jose Gimenez due to a muscular complaint, while Alexander Sorloth is a slight doubt, but there is still a chance that the striker will be included in the squad.
Marcos Llorente is likely to be introduced into the side on Tuesday, with the Spaniard set to play at right-back, which would mean that Nahuel Molina drops down to the bench.
Conor Gallagher should continue down the left for the Red and Whites, while Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez are expected to play as the front two even if Sorloth is able to prove his fitness.
As for Leverkusen, Martin Terrier, Jeanuel Belocian, Victor Boniface and Amine Adli are on the sidelines, with the former being forced off in the early stages of the team's clash with Monchengladbach on Saturday.
Florian Wirtz has again been a standout performer for Leverkusen this season, scoring 14 goals and registering nine assists in 28 appearances in all competitions, and he will again operate as the number 10.
Patrik Schick has also been in excellent form this term, scoring 16 goals in all competitions, and he will be bidding to register his second Champions League goal of the campaign in the contest on Tuesday night.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Mukiele, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie; Palacios, Xhaka; Frimpong, Wirtz, Grimaldo; Schick
We say: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
This is such a tricky match to call considering Atletico's strength on home soil; Leverkusen will bring a seriously good winning run into this match, but Atletico's recent form has also been brilliant, and we are finding it incredibly difficult to separate the two teams.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
