UEFA Chapions League: Atlético Madrid vs Manchester United Match Preview And Prediction 23/02/2022
On Wednesday, Atletico Madrid welcome Manchester United to Wanda Metropolitano for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie. Atletico Madrid left it late to book their place in the last 16. A win over Porto on Matchday 6 saw them finish second in Group B – 11 points behind Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Manchester United lost just one of their six group games to finish atop Group F – one point clear of Villarreal.
Atletico Madrid claimed a comfortable 3-0 victory over Osasuna on Saturday. As a result, they find themselves fifth in the La Liga table. With first-place Real Madrid sitting 15 points ahead of Diego Simeone’s men, their title defence has all but ended.
Atletico Madrid have not been at their best of late. Indeed, they have only managed to win three of their past eight matches across all competitions. Having lost four of their previous seven, the Spanish side are in danger of falling out of the Champions League if they don’t up their game.
It is also worth noting that Atletico have had some disciplinary issues recently, having had a man sent off in three of their last eight matches.
Manchester United head into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a 4-2 victory over Leeds United in the Premier League. That means the Red Devils have avoided defeat in each of their past seven Premier League outings and have lost just one of their previous 14.
Bruno Fernandes has played a key role in Man Utd’s upturn, bagging four goals and three assists in his past seven Premier League games. Having lost just one of their six group games earlier in the campaign, United will be confident of going deep into the Champions League.
Head-to-head: Atletico Madrid and Manchester United have only faced each other on two occasions over the years, with those meetings coming all the way back in 1991.
The teams played home and away in the UEFA European Cup Winners Cup. Atletico won 3-0 on home soil before the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Manchester.
Atletico Madrid will be without the injured trio of Antoine Griezmann, Daniel Wass and Matheus Cunha on Wednesday.
As for Manchester United, backup goalkeeper Tom Heaton is currently sidelined through injury. Edinson Cavani is also a doubt for Wednesday's clash.
It’s fair to say that both Atletico and Man Utd have struggled defensively this season. With that in mind, we should see plenty of goals on Wednesday.
