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Champions League: Atletico Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund: Atletico Madrid takes on Borussia Dortmund at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday in a quarterfinal matchup that will see two underdog candidates for the Champions League title battle for a first-leg lead.
While their Bundesliga colleagues defeated PSV Eindhoven 3-1, Diego Simeone’s team shockingly ousted Inter Milan, the runners-up from the previous year, on penalties in the round of 16.
In the first leg of their last-16 matchup at San Siro, where a lone goal from Marko Arnautovic gave the Serie A champions-elect a narrow lead to the Spanish capital, Atletico were the latest victims of Inter’s staunch defence.
Los Rojiblancos responded almost immediately through Antoine Griezmann, even though they were behind 2-0 on aggregate due to a Federico Dimarco effort.
Memphis Depay’s intervention in the 87th minute forced extra time and penalties, where Alexis Sanchez, Davy Klaassen, and Lautaro Martinez all misplayed their lines from 12 yards to send Atletico into a frenzy.
Simeone’s crop has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the third time in five years thanks to their captivating return on home soil; however, the Spanish powerhouses have not gone any further since 2016–17; RB Leipzig (2019–20) and Manchester City (2021–22) have since eliminated them at this stage.
Simeone’s team may need to aim for Champions League success in order to make a comeback to Europe’s redesigned top table for 2024–25, though, as even though they defeated Villarreal 2-1 in their most recent La Liga match on April 1, a patchy run of excellent play has left the fourth-place Rojiblancos only two points ahead of Athletic Bilbao with eight games remaining.
Simeone’s team has won just four of the last twelve games in all competitions at home, but Atletico has astonishingly never lost a Champions League knockout at the Wanda Metropolitano or their former Vicente Calderon home, winning 10 of those sixteen games while conceding just four goals.
Since losing their first four Champions League home games 1-0 to AC Milan in November 2021, Atletico has won nine of their past 10 games, indicating that Dortmund will have their work cut out for them this week.
Though they faced many obstacles, Edin Terzic’s team overcame Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Newcastle United to win the “group of death” and advance to face the eventual Dutch champions PSV, whose dependable talisman Luuk de Jong saved a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Eindhoven.
Though Dortmund won the match at home thanks to a fast second-leg finish from Jadon Sancho, owned by Manchester United, and an injury-time goal from Marco Reus, the German powerhouses have lost three straight quarter final Champions League eliminations since finishing second to Bayern Munich in 2013.
Nevertheless, Terzic’s team capitalised on the collapse of their Klassiker opponents over the Easter weekend, winning 2-0 at the Allianz Arena to earn their fifth straight victory in all competitions.
Unfortunately, their momentum was halted at the wrong time as they lost 1-0 at home to Stuttgart on Saturday.
With only a goal differential separating them from RB Leipzig in fourth place, BVB’s narrow defeat has left them outside of the Champions League spots in the Bundesliga table.
Until Wednesday’s matchup with Atletico, whom Dortmund lost 2-0 on Spanish soil in the 2018–19 group stage following a 4-0 thrashing at Signal Iduna Park, BVB cannot prioritise either European glory or a top–four finish.
Atletico Madrid Champions League form:
D W W W L W
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
L W L W L W
Borussia Dortmund Champions League form:
W W W D D W
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
W W W W W L
Griezmann is well and back to work at the forefront of Simeone’s assault after being forced to withdraw from the France squad for the matches in March due to an ankle injury, halting his incredible record of 84 straight appearances for the World Cup runners-up.
Nevertheless, Mario Hermoso, the defender, is not anticipated to play because of a thigh ailment, while his compatriot Thomas Lemar is sidelined for an extended period of time owing to an Achilles tendon tear; Reinildo and Axel Witsel should thus partner Jose Gimenez at the back.
Simeone, on the other hand, has received a last-minute concern regarding Depay’s fitness after he was unable to finish Saturday’s training session because of a knock.
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As a result, Alvaro Morata and Griezmann will likely start together as the two-man striking partnership on Wednesday.
In terms of Dortmund’s availability, Ramy Bensebaini (knee) is undoubtedly out, but Terzic now has Nico Schlotterbeck back in the Champions League after the German centre-back missed the second-leg victory over PSV due to suspension.
Another doubt surrounds Donyell Malen, who resumed training after a hip issue ahead of Dortmund’s most recent loss to Stuttgart.
However, he experienced a minor setback before the game and stayed in the treatment room.
While Niclas Fullkrug should continue to be the visitors’ main man despite going eight games without a goal, Terzic can still rely on players like Reus, Sebastien Haller, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens to bolster his offensive options.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; Molina, Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Griezmann, Morata
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can, Brandt; Sancho, Fullkrug, Adeyemi
Our prediction for this match 0-0 draw or 1-0 won by Madrid
