Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid: UCL Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

Following last week's thrilling match, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid will meet again at the Metropolitano on Wednesday night for the second leg of their Champions League last 16 series. Real Madrid now have a 2-1 advantage. After halftime stunning goals from Rodrygo and Julian Alvarez, Carlo Ancelotti's team scored in the last moments of last Tuesday's match at the Bernabeu thanks to Brahim Diaz.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Real Madrid has won every Champions League matchup between the two teams—in the 2014 and 2016 finals as well as the 2017 semi-finals. However, Atletico should be optimistic since they have only lost one of their past seven home games against their fierce rivals.

Following last week's loss, Atleti must win this match to have any hope of advancing to the cup. They have won four of their past five matches, including two against Real.

In a Champions League knockout tie, Los Colchoneros have lost the first leg six times before advancing three times, with each of those victories coming in home-court advantage in the second leg.

Reigning champions Atletico Madrid will have their work cut out for them in this round. Manager Diego Simeone saw his team do the same thing last season when they rallied from a goal down to defeat Inter Milan in the round of 16.

Since Ajax's March 1997 victory at the Vicente Calderon, the hosts have gone 18 games without a loss at home in the Champions League knockout stages—a streak that has lasted 28 years.

Atletico did not perform well in preparation for this match, having lost their first 25 head-to-head matches against Getafe in a row last Sunday—a late setback in which Mauro Arambarri scored twice.

Atletico has dropped to third place and has played one more game than leaders Barcelona, who are still one point ahead of them; hence, after that slip-up, elimination here would be a devastating blow to their whole season.

Real Madrid will need to play their very best to defeat their city rivals, particularly in this stadium in front of such a boisterous fan base.

 After eight consecutive away victories at the Calderon from 2008 to 2014, Real have struggled since Atletico's transfer to the Metropolitano, winning just three of their last seventeen games.

After becoming the first club to play 500 games and winning 300 in the tournament after last week's victory, Real will still be considered the favorites despite their winless record away at Atletico in three previous efforts.

Thanks to this triumph, Real extended their historic 10-game winning streak in the Champions League knockout round and won their fifth consecutive match.

Because they are nine for nine under Ancelotti in ties where they won the first leg and have only lost one of their twenty-two prior matches where they won the first leg (against Ajax in 2019), Los Blancos are often able to complete the job from a winning position.

Last weekend, Real were just as unimpressive as their forthcoming opponents, even though they overcame Rayo Vallecano 2-1 to draw level with Barça in the standings.

Rayo had more possession and outshot Real 20-10 in Sunday's strange game at the Bernabeu; Ancelotti's team should take a cue from their performance even if they still came out on top.

Atletico Madrid x Real Madrid Team News

After Cesar Azpilicueta's return to the matchday squad over the weekend, Simeone has a good roster to select from; Koke is the only player Atletico will be without.

Even though they lost, Nahuel Molina and Robin Le Normand were the only substitutes from the starting eleven that could face Getafe. Pablo Barrios and Le Normand will face off to decide who starts in Marcos Llorente's starting lineup.

Antoine Griezmann and Diego Forlan are the only other Atleti players to score in back-to-back derbies at the Bernabeu in the 21st century; Alvarez became the third player to score in consecutive derbies at the Bernabeu with his spectacular goal, which was his seventh goal in nine Champions League games this season.

With the tight championship battle, Ancelotti started a powerful Real Madrid lineup over the weekend, including Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo.

Antonio Rudiger and Thibaut Courtois should be OK after sitting out the weekend's victory against Rayo. Still, Dani Ceballos' hamstring injury puts him in the same boat as Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal, who have been sidelined for some time.

The only change is expected to be Bellingham's return from suspension; Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, and Ferland Mendy were all rested, but all three should be recalled. Brahim, who may be out of luck after contributing to last week's winning goal, may be unable to play.

Our Predictions

Full-time draw @ 3.55 on Sly247.ng

The odds of Real Madrid winning this European match are high since they have a perfect record against Atletico, having won all but one of their prior meetings. They have also defeated their local rivals in two Champions League finals.

Los Blancos tend to find a way, even when the advantage isn't as robust as Ancelotti would have liked. They're sure to suffer considerably at some point throughout the evening.

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