UEFA Champions League: Atletico Madrid vs. Manchester United Preview, Odds, Prediction

Atletico Madrid hosts Manchester United on Wednesday night. This is, for many the closest matchup of the entire round of 16, and to be honest, we can’t argue about that too much. This year, both teams aren’t at the highest possible level, displaying numerous flaws and often wasting points in the least expected situations. The fans are a bit tired of this, and we are pretty sure that an elimination here would add even more frustration and pressure in the locker rooms.

Preview

Atletico Madrid (+135) has subsequent losses and wins in the past six events and has five wins, four losses, and a draw in the last 10 games. Seven of those events were with over 2.5 scores and five with both sides netting.

Diego Simeone’s guys are nowhere near the level of play from several years ago when they ruled Europe, having one of the best defenses in the history of football. Now, the Madridians often allow goals and have a pretty mediocre back line.

Atletico lost the last event at home, 0-1 to Levante, snapping a three-match streak with both teams to score and over 2.5 goals. Their results at Wanda Metropolitan are average, with five wins, four losses and a draw since late October.

Manchester United (+310) did you know that only Manchester City has more points won in the EPL than United since Rangnick took over the wheel? We were shocked after learning that data yesterday. The Red Devils haven’t been convincing at all, and we were simply stunned once hearing the info.

United has one loss in the past nine games, winning five and having three draws. That loss was the elimination from the FA Cup, once Middlesbrough won at Trafford following the penalties.

The Red Devils couldn’t keep their net intact on seven of the previous 10 events, and the defense has been a critical problem for Rangnick. Meanwhile, United usually scores at least one, often more goals, which is why they have solid results.

Latest News

The hosts will have several important players out. Carasco is suspended due to a red card, Wass has a knee injury, while Matheus Cunha suffered an ankle injury and he is ruled out. Lemar is not active for this event.

On the other side, Cavani, reserve goalkeeper Heaton and Mason Greenwood are all unavailable for United.

Head to Head

The only meeting between these two teams took place in the Cup Winners’ Cup round of 16 back in 1991/1992. The Spanish team was better, winning 3-0 at home, and getting out with a draw in England, 1-1.

After and before that, there were no more meetings between these two powerhouses.

Prediction

We can’t tell who is going to win this leg, and we’re going to focus on goals. Both teams have problematic defenses and much better attacks, therefore, our pick would be goals on both ends. Surprisingly, the odds are very, very high (in our opinion) -105, and we intend to use them. Apparently, the bookmakers believe differently than we do, so let’s use that to our advantage.

Pick: Both teams to score -105

Here are the previews for other UCL games:

• Chelsea vs. Lille
• Villarreal vs. Juventus
• Benfica vs. Ajax