Atletico Madrid takes on Borussia Dortmund at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday in a quarterfinal matchup that will see two underdog candidates for the Champions League title battle battle for a first-leg lead.
Simeone’s crop has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the third time in five years thanks to their captivating return to home soil.
However, the Spanish powerhouses have not gone any farther since 2016–17; RB Leipzig (2019–20) and Manchester City (2021–22) have since eliminated them at this stage.
Simeone’s team may need to aim for Champions League success to make a comeback to Europe’s redesigned top table for 2024–25.
Even though they defeated Villarreal 2-1 in their most recent La Liga match on April 1, a patchy run of excellent play has left the fourth-place Rojiblancos only two points ahead of Athletic Bilbao with eight games remaining.
Simeone’s team has won just four of the last twelve games in all competitions at home, but Atletico has astonishingly never lost a Champions League knockout at the Wanda Metropolitano or their former Vicente Calderon home, winning 10 of those sixteen games while conceding just four goals.
Dortmund’s story so far
Since losing their first four Champions League home games 1-0 to AC Milan in November 2021, Atletico has won nine of their past 10 games, indicating that Dortmund will have their work cut out for them this week.
Though they faced many obstacles, Edin Terzic’s team overcame Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Newcastle United to win the “group of death” and advance to face the eventual Dutch champions PSV, whose dependable talisman Luuk de Jong saved a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Eindhoven.
Though Dortmund won the match at home thanks to a fast second-leg finish from Jadon Sancho, and an injury-time goal from Marco Reus, the German powerhouses have lost three straight quarterfinal Champions League eliminations since finishing second to Bayern Munich in 2013.
With only goal differential separating them from RB Leipzig in fourth place, BVB’s narrow defeat has left them outside of the Champions League spots in the Bundesliga table.
Until Wednesday’s matchup with Atletico, whom Dortmund lost 2-0 on Spanish soil in the 2018–19 group stage following a 4-0 thrashing at Signal Iduna Park, BVB cannot prioritize either European glory or a top-four finish.
Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund Details
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Time: 12:30 AM IST
Location: Metropolitano
TV: Sony Ten Network (India)
Live Stream: Sony LIV
Lineup Prediction
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup: Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; Molina, Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Griezmann, Morata
Also Read: How To Watch UCL 2023-24 LIVE Streaming Free Online
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can, Brandt; Sancho, Fullkrug, Adeyemi
Fantasy XI
Goalkeeper – Oblak
Defenders – Witsel, Gimenez, Hummels, Schlotterbeck
Midfielders – De Paul, Koke, Brandt
Attackers – Griezmann, Adeyemi, Sancho
