A battle for top spot in Group E of the Champions League takes place at Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday night as Atletico Madrid play host to Lazio in their final group-stage fixture.
Just one point separates these two teams, who have already qualified for the last 16, with Los Colchoneros at the summit sitting marginally ahead of their Italian counterparts in second place.
Match preview
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A year on from their disappointing group-stage exit from the Champions League, Atletico Madrid have punched their ticket to the last 16 with a game to spare this time around after winning three and drawing two of their first five Group E matches.
Diego Simeone's side beat Feyenoord 3-1 in the Netherlands on matchday five a fortnight ago to guarantee their place in the knockout rounds, and they only need to avoid defeat against Lazio on Wednesday to finish top of their group for the first time since 2016-17.
Atletico lost 1-0 at Barcelona in La Liga just a few days after beating Feyenoord, but they returned to winning ways last weekend when they claimed a 2-1 home victory over Almeria courtesy of first-half strikes from Alvaro Morata and Angel Correa.
Los Colchoneros have climbed above Barca into third spot on goal difference and they now sit five and seven points behind second-placed Real Madrid and surprise La Liga leaders Girona respectively with a game in hand on both teams.
Atletico will be confident of success in the Champions League on Wednesday as they have already won two home matches in the group stage this season by an aggregate score of 9-2, while they are unbeaten in their last four encounters with Lazio, scoring eight goals in the process.
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For the first time in three years and for just the third time in their history, Lazio have secured their spot in the Champions League last 16 after accumulating 10 points from their first five group-stage matches this season.
The Eagles have won their last two games in Group E without reply, including a 2-0 home victory over Celtic on matchday five two weeks ago. Two goals in the final eight minutes from substitute Ciro Immobile helped Lazio climb four points clear of third-placed Feyenoord and seal a top-two finish with a game to spare.
Maurizio Sarri's men know that in order to leapfrog Atletico Madrid to top spot in Group E, they must beat the Spanish side on their patch on Wednesday, something that Lazio have not achieved since March 1998 when they won 1-0 in the UEFA Cup semi-finals thanks to a goal from Vladimir Jugovic.
Lazio enter Wednesday's contest after having their three-game winning streak in all competitions brought to an end by Hellas Verona in a 1-1 draw in Serie A last weekend. Mattia Zaccagni had a first-half strike cancelled out by Thomas Henry 20 minutes from time, and the Eagles have subsequently slipped to 10th in the Italian top-flight table, albeit sitting just four points behind the top four.
The draw with Verona extended Lazio's winless away run to four games, while they have only won two of their last 18 away matches in the Champions League, losing 11 in the process. In addition, Lazio's aforementioned win at Atletico 25 years ago is their only victory in eight previous meetings away against Spanish opposition in European competition.
Team News
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Atletico Madrid are still having to cope without Thomas Lemar (Achilles), Vitolo and Pablo Barrios (both knee) as they continue to recover from long-term injuries – the latter of whom scored in a 1-1 draw at Lazio in the reverse fixture in September.
Simeone will consider rotating his wing-backs with Marcos Llorente and Samuel Lino pushing to start ahead of Nahuel Molina and Rodrigo Riquelme, while Jose Gimenez and Mario Hermoso are in contention to replace Cesar Azpilicueta and Stefan Savic at centre-back.
After scoring at the weekend, Correa could keep his place ahead of Memphis Depay in the final third alongside Morata and Antoine Griezmann, who have scored 17 goals between them so far this season.
As for Lazio, Adam Marusic was forced off in the draw with Verona last weekend with an eye injury, and the defender is set to join Alessio Romagnoli (calf), Patric (hamstring) and Gustav Isaksen (thigh) on the sidelines.
Nicolo Rovella will serve a one-match suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards, so either Danilo Cataldi or Daichi Kamada is set to start in centre-midfield alongside Luis Alberto and Matteo Guendouzi.
Goalkeeper Ivan Provedel, who dramatically scored a last-minute equaliser in the aforementioned 1-1 draw with Atletico last time out, is set to continue between the sticks, while Immobile, who has scored three goals in his last two Champions League games, is expected to lead the line as captain, with Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson the most likely duo to provide support on the flanks.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Gimenez, Witsel, Hermoso; Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Correa, Griezmann; Morata
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Lazzari, Casale, Gila, Hysaj; Kamada, Guendouzi, Alberto; Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Lazio
A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched teams is set to take place on Wednesday, just like the reverse fixture three months ago, although Atletico will be regarded as the favourites to win on home soil.
Considering Atletico's solid home form and Lazio's recent troubles on the road, we believe that Simeone's men will do enough to grind out a slender win in front of their own fans and secure top spot in Group E.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
