Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd Preview and Betting Tip
Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd Preview
Man Utd showed some bottle in front of a hostile Elland Road crowd on Sunday and won 4-2. Dan James produced an assist but he didn’t play through the middle so he didn’t really have any good chances to score. It’s frustrating trying to predict what version of Utd will show up these days but we’ll have another go this week. Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd is the standout match in the Champions League and the hosts have had their own issues this season.
Can Rangnick pull another rabbit out of his hat? Or will Simeone conjure up an Atletico victory? It should be a fiery contest whatever the result, hopefully it lives up to its billing. Check out our preview and betting tip below.
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have not been their usual selves this season. In the group stage they kept just one clean sheet, they lost three games and they only qualified thanks to a final day win vs Porto. The 20/21 La Liga Champions conceded just 25 league goals during that entire campaign. This season they are languishing in 5th and they have already shipped 34 goals in just 25 games. A 1-0 home defeat to Levante a week ago was a new low. However, unfortunately for Utd, that result may have come at the perfect time for Atleti.
Simeone has tried to turn Atletico into a more expansive side this season. Maybe he got carried away after winning the league and on the evidence of their 3-0 win at Osasuna, it looks like he is getting back to basics. Atleti only had 35% possession, their lowest total for some time. They were compact, defended well and they looked a lot more solid. It was a massive shift in approach and you would expect a similar gameplan on Wednesday.
They scored from a set piece early at the weekend and then nicked two goals on the counter, one of them a superb strike from Suarez. Joao Felix volleyed in the opener and provided a superb pass for Suarez to score the 2nd so he’ll be brimming with confidence. Hector Herrera started alongside Koke in midfield and did well but Kondogbia is another option in there. Jose Gimenez was subbed at Half time injured, so Felipe will most likely come in to partner Savic at centre back.
Man Utd
Leeds proved to be no match for Man Utd on Sunday. They had a ten minute spell in the second half which saw them score two quickfire goals but Utd dominated the rest of the game. That was Utd’s second win in a row after trio of poor results against Middlesbrough, Burnley and Southampton. Has something clicked for Rangnick?
Two wins on the bounce is hardly earth shattering and Brighton played them off the park until they had a man sent off. I was impressed by them at the weekend but beating the current version of Leeds is not a result to get carried away with. Their man to man style gave Utd’s flair players the time and space to shine. It’ll be a very different story against Atletico’s low block and they’ll have to be very wary of getting caught on the counter.
Edinson Cavani is Utd’s only injury worry. The line up almost picks itself now, the only question marks will be who starts at right back (Wan Bissaka/Dalot), midfield (Pogba/Fred) and on the right of side of attack (Rashford/Elanga/Lingard). As Burnley showed a couple of weeks ago, it is possible to frustrate this Utd team with a low block. So, the likes of Bruno, Sancho and Pogba (if picked) will hold the key to unlocking the Atletico defence.
Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd Possible Lineups
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Vrsaljko, Savic, Felipe, Reinaldo, Llorente, Koke, Herrera, Correa, Felix, Suarez
Man Utd: De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Pogba, Fernandes, Sancho, Elanga, Ronaldo.
Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd Betting Tip
It is hard to argue with the odds for this match. Atletico are 2.58, Utd are 3.2 and the draw is 3.2. Given how badly I have been predicting Utd results recently, I am instead going to focus on a couple of side markets. Joao Felix really impressed me at the weekend and while he hasn’t yet scored in the Champions League this season (and only 3 in La Liga), I think the 4.3 about him to score at anytime is a decent price. His confidence will be sky high and it was one of the best games I’ve seen him play for Atletico.
The Romanian referee that is taking charge of this match isn’t afraid to flash his cards. In his last nine matches he has brandished no less than 46 cards (44 yellows/2 straight reds). In the Champions League this season he has produced 34 cards in just seven games (33 yellows/1 straight red). That’s an average of just under five cards per game. He showed nine cards in the Atletico vs Porto group game at this ground earlier this season.
If he keeps his place after the weekend win, Sime Vrsaljko is surely worth backing to be shown a card at 5.00. The Croatian right back will likely be up against the fleet footed Jadon Sancho. There is every chance he’ll have to take him down at some stage, or lunge into a tackle. He picked up his third booking of the season in all competitions against Osasuna at the weekend. Hopefully he can make it four on Wednesday.
