Atletico Madrid prepare to lock horns against Bayern Munich at the Vicente Calderon in the first leg of the Champions League semi finals and the match promises to be a fascinating tactical battle.
Atletico Madrid Match Betting News
Atletico Madrid have firmly established themselves as one of the best teams around in Europe during recent times and Rojiblancos’ ability to pit their wits against the elite sides despite losing key players every year, is a testament to manager Diego Simeone’s brilliance.
Under Simeone, Atletico are have mounted another title challenge this season and also look in great shape in the Champions League after having eliminated defending champions Barcelona in the quarter finals.
Atletico now prepare to square off against another European giant in Bayern Munich in the semi finals but given Simeone’s tactical astuteness, one can be sure that the Spanish side will have nothing to fear ahead of the clash. Tiago, Oliver Torres Muñoz and Diego Godin are injury doubts for Atletico.
Bayern Munich Match Betting News
Bayern Munich are well on their way to claiming another Bundesliga title and while their achievement domestically cannot be undermined, the title which manager Pep Guardiola really wants is the Champions League.
With Guardiola set to depart at the end of the season, he is intent on guiding Bayern to European glory and under his tutelage, the German giants certainly look like genuine contenders this season.
Having been handed a clash against Atletico Madrid though, Bayern have a lot of work to do in order to seal their place in Milan and it will be interesting to see if Guardiola will be able to outfox Simeone.
Jérome Boateng, Arjen Robben, Fabian Benko, Sebastian Rode, Juan Bernat and Holger Badstuber are the injury concerns for Bayern ahead of the game.
Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich Match Prediction
Bayern and Atletico last faced each other in the final of the 1974 European Cup, where the German giants came out 4-0 victors via replays. Heading into the clash on Wednesday night, there seems to be little separating the two sides and one can expect a very close encounter.
Rather than the squad strength, the battle of the two tactical geniuses on the sidelines will probably determine the outcome of the clash and as things stand, a score draw might be the likeliest result on the night.
