Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich: Preview and Prediction

Atletico Madrid prepare to upset the odds when they host Bayern Munich at Vicente Calderon in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal fixture on Wednesday night.

Atletico are in their third Champions League semis in three years, as in 2013/14 they knocked out Chelsea at the same stage to go into the final and eventually lose the title against arch rivals Real Madrid.

Bayern Munich are in the fifth consecutive semis and have reached the final twice and went on to win their last title in 2012/13 by beating domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Form Guide

Atletico Madrid’s overall record in Champions League this season is 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. They lost at home to Benfica in the matchday two, but since then they notched up four straight wins at home in the competition, with the latest coming against Barcelona on 13th April.

Bayern Munich won 7, drawn 2 and lost 1 from their 10 matches in this season’s Champions League. They have failed to win their last two away matches in the competition, with draws against Juventus and Benfica. Also they have only win 2 of their 5 away games in the competition this season.

Atletico Madrid: Team News

Diego Godin out with a hamstring injury and will join Tiago on the sidelines. The young French defender Lucas Hernandez is expected to partner Jose Maria Gimenez at the center of defense.

Fernando Torres returns after serving his one match ban and is expected to s partner Antoine Griezmann in the attacking front.

Atletico Madrid: Predicted Line-up (4-4-2)

Oblak,
Felipe Luis, Hernandez, Gimenez, Juanfran,
Carrasco, Gabi, Koke, Saul Niguez,
Torres, Griezmann.

Bayern Munich: Team News

Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber and Arjen Robben are long term injury absentees for Bayern Munich.

While Kingsley Coman is a doubt and is expected to miss here as he is yet to recover from a thigh injury.

Pep Guardiola is likely to start off with a 4-1-4-1 formation which may change to 4-3-3 if required.

Bayen Munich: Predicted Line-up (4-1-4-1)

Neuer,
Bernat, Alaba, Martinez, Lahm,
Vidal,
Ribery, Thiago, Muller, Costa,
Lewandowski.

Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich: Head-to-Head Stats

Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich faced-off against each other only twice in the history of UEFA competitions. Both meetings came in the 1974 European Cup final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, after Bayern grabbed a 120th equalizer to force a replay two days later. Bayern ran out comfortable winners by 4-0 in the replay, both Uli Hoeness and Gerd Muller scoring two each that time.

Atletico Madrid’s overall record against German oppositions in UEFA competitions out of the 34 matches played so far is 16 wins, 6 draws and 12 defeats. The home record in 16 matches is 11 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats. They are also unbeaten in the last 7 matches against German oppositions, with 4 wins and 3 draws. Their last defeat came against Borussia Dortmund in the 1996/97 season.

Bayern Munich’s overall record against Spanish teams in 49 matches is 23 wins, 12 draws and 14 losses. They have only won once in their last 12 visits to Spain and their overall away record read 6 wins, 5 draws and 12 defeats from 23 matches.

Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich: Prediction

Bayern Munich may be the powerhouse of European football, but Atletico Madrid is a team you can’t stop admiring. The record Bundesliga Champions have drawn their last two away games in the competition and look far less convincing. They might have a few injury concerns at their defense, but one must expect them to do much better.

Atletico Madrid are no pushover and they are known for their spirited performances. The undoing of Barcelona in the second leg is an example of what the team is capable when in full swing. And Bayern must be careful here.

Having closely watched both teams since their quarter final wins, I definitely think Atletico Madrid are favorites to win this one. And I feel their defense is quite formidable for the Germans to break.

My Prediction is a 2-1 win in favor of Atletico Madrid.