Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more

Atletico Madrid will host Man Utd at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. The match will take place on February 23, beginning at 01:30 IST.

The last month of winter has long passed the equator. There is much to do in the domestic arena, but the Champions League does not wait: Wednesday night brings us a massive show, where the Red Devils will clash with the Indians.

How will the match between these two well-known but such unstable teams end? We will help you find out.

Atletico Madrid News & Current Form:

The capital club picked up 7 points in 6 games of the UCL and were able to reach the playoffs from the “Group of death” taking 2nd place. They were beaten by the unattainable and brilliant Liverpool, which managed the entire group stage flawlessly (18 points); Porto and AC Milan were left out of the playoffs. 

The fate of a ticket to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League was decided in the final round in a face-to-face encounter between the Mattress Makers and the leader of the Portuguese championship. Diego Simeone’s side aimed a draw but managed to secure a confident 3-1 win, which allowed them to surpass Porto by two points and continue their fight for the main European trophy.

In the domestic arena, the Red and Whites are fighting for a place in the Champions League, and at the moment they are among the five strongest. On February 16, in the rescheduled match of La Liga Atletico sensationally lost to the outsider of the Primera Liga Levante (0:1) and missed the chance to surpass Barcelona. The odds on the guests’ victory in this game was 11 (!) and only 1.27 on the home team’s victory.

The Wanda Metropolitano is a serious challenge for any opponent. Simeone’s side have only lost 2 out of their last 16 home matches in the Champions League (9 wins, 5 draws). Both defeats came in recent campaign, 2:3 against Liverpool and 0:1 against AC Milan.

Atlético de Madrid are experiencing difficulties in their front line, having lost a number of strategic players. French forward Antoine Griezmann suffered a thigh injury and Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha injured his knee. The capital club’s midfielder Yannick Carrasco (Covid-19) is in the infirmary.

Man Utd News & Current Form:

Mancunians managed to secure the 1st place in quartet F a round before the end of the group stage and with 11 points confidently stepped into the 1/8 finals of the most prestigious club tournament of the continent. The group was not a weak one, with the Red Devils facing Villarreal, Atalanta and BSC Young Boys.

In the English Premier League, MU are looking to retain their 4th position, which will allow the Red Devils to retain their Champions League slot for next season, which will help attract high-quality transfers to the new coach. 

In February, Ralf Rangnick’s team unexpectedly lost points on the road against outsider Burnley and at home against mid-table side Southampton. Both encounters ended with the same score of 1-1 and followed a similar pattern: Manchester United scored a quick goal, but let the opponents level the score in the opening stages of the second half and conceded the victory.

On 15 February, the team seem to have overcome this setback, as the Mancunians finally beat Brighton 2-0 at Old Trafford. The away goal was Cristiano Ronaldo‘s first in 2022. The top-scorer broke his worst goalless streak since 2009 – six games in a row without a goal. After that, they (it should be noted) not without problems were able to beat Leeds Utd 2-4, which left players in a good mood before the upcoming important meeting.

The Reds’ sickbay has a lot of work as Uruguayan forward Edison Cavani is out due to a groin injury, and Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic has a shin injury. Losses in the backline include Raphael Varane and Eric Bailly.

Atletico Madrid season form guide (all competitions): L-W-L-W-L-W

Man Utd season form guide (all competitions): W-L-D-D-W-W

Atletico Madrid v Man Utd Head-To-Head Record:

Surprisingly, but for more than a century of the clubs’ history, the opponents’ tournament paths have crossed only once – in the autumn of 1991 in the 1/8 finals of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. 

Back then, Atlético achieved a resounding 3-0 win in the first leg at the Vicente Calderon and settled all doubts about the outcome of the encounter. The return leg at Old Trafford ended in a 1-1 draw.

Atletico Madrid v Man Utd Predicted XI:

Atletico Madrid’s predicted line-up (3-5-2): Jan Oblak; Stefan Savic,Josema Gimenez, Reinildo; Sime Vrsaljko, Marcos Llorente, Koke, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Renan Lodi; Luis Suarez, Joao Felix.

Manchester United’s predicted line-up (4-3-3): David de Gea; Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Alex Telles; Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba; Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho.

Statistical preview of the match Atletico Madrid v Man Utd:

• This will be the first time Diego Pablo Simeone and Ralf Rangnick face each other.
• Atletico Madrid have lost all of their last four UEFA Champions League games against English opponents. That is twice the number of defeats they had conceded in their first 12 games against English sides.
• Atletico are winless in their last 6 home Champions League games (3 draws, 3 defeats).
• Manchester United have failed to score in only one of their last 11 away Champions League games.
• In the Champions League, Madrid and Manchester United concede an average of 1.33 goals per game. Atlético have an average of 1.17 goals scored per game, while Manchester United have an average of 1.83. 
• This season, in the UCL, MU has played 5 out of 6 matches with the exchange of goals.
• In 5 of the last 7 games of Atletico in all tournaments there was an exchange of goals.
• Only once in the last eight matches have the club from Madrid remained without a conceded goal.

What has been said before the match:

Ralf Rangnick:

“In those 11 years he has won trophies with a clear identity and with a recognisable playing style. And I don’t think this has changed in the last years.”

Rangnick spole on Simeone`s career to journalists.

“There is always an emotional side and this also reflects the character of the manager – Diego Simeone is probably one of the most emotional managers in Europe. The style and the way that his teams have always performed reflects those emotions that he tries to bring into the team, and this is what it’s all about. We need to match the levels of energy and emotions in both games and this is what we have to be aware of.”

“I will try to prepare our team, my team, for exactly that kind of challenge. It will be physical, it will be emotional. We have to be mentally strong in both games, even more so when we play away.”

told the German about his expectations.

Diego Simeone:

“Everything influences, every year is not the same. And life is just like football, it puts us to the test with obstacles. This year, in football, we are living with this situation and we will see if we are able to finish well.”

said the specialist in anticipation of the match.

Atletico Madrid v Man Utd Prediction:

Considering that Atletico have been conceding a lot this season and that Manchester United’s defense hasn’t been doing too well either, judging from their recent matches (everyone will remember the bloopers of the world’s most expensive defender, Harry Maguire), it’s very likely that the two teams will be able to produce goals. Each have conceded more than 30 goals in their national championships.

Don`t miss out 👉: Alan Shearer about Harry Kane: “One of the best centre-forward performances I’ve seen this season”

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: both teams to score – Yes.