Champions League Round of 16: Atletico Madrid – Dortmund

Atletico quite surprisingly eliminated Internazionale from the last 16 as the Italian side was one of the in form teams in Europe. However an inspired display at the Wanda Metrapolitano helped Someone´s men see through. They will be happy to have drawn Dortmund in the quarter final as it is arguably the best draw possible. But Dortmund will have similar feelings to have drawn Atletico rather than Man City, Real Madrid or Arsenal. Both teams will also fancy their chances in a potential semi final as they are on the good side of the draw with PSG and Barcelona. 

Atletico Team News

Atletico have a few injuries to deal with but key players all seem to be fit. Simeone won´t be happy though that Memphis is set to miss the match with yet another injury this season, as the Dutch striker was pivotal in the last round against Inter. The Dutch super sub has scored a few important goals when coming off the bench across La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey but is sidelined with a new muscle injury. Also Lemar, Hermoso and Vitolo are set to miss the game. 

Dortmund Team News

Terzic´side will certainly feel the absence of star forward Donyell Malen. The Dutch striker has been in form and was crucial in their away leg against PSV in the last 16 of the Champions League. Dortmund do have several options at the front to replace him though, but still Malen´s speed and directness always posed a threat to opposition. Besides Malen also Bamba and Bensebaini will not feature in the first Quarter Final clash in Madrid. 

Atletico Form

Atletico are very hard to predict and very inconsistent this season. In the league they have only won 3 out of their last 8 games, drawing 2 and losing 3. Their inconsistency in the league has seen them drift off from the top 3 in an intense battle for the 4th CL spot with Athletic Bilbao, who are only 2 points behind Diego Simeone´s men. In the CL however Atletico´s form has been far more consistent, with only 1 loss in 8 matches so far. At home the Madrid side are yet to drop a point this season, as they are always traditionally strong in home matches in the Champions League. 

Dortmund Form

Just like Atletico, Dortmund are incredibly inconsistent in the National League while performing strongly in the Champions League. Die Borussen are currently in 5th place in the Bundesliga after last weekend´s 0-1 defeat at home against Stuttgart. That defeat has left Stuttgart out of sight for now, meaning that the final battle for 4th spot with Leipzig will be crucial in deciding who joins the Champions League next season. However, just the week before that Dortmund scraped an impressive victory away from home at Bayern Munich. In the Champions League Dortmund have been more consistent, staying unbeaten for the last 7 matches after a 2-0 defeat away from home against PSG on matchday 1. Finishing first in the group of death and then beating PSV over 2 matches has set them up for a great quarter final clash with Atletico where they fancy their chances. 

What do the stats say?

• Atletico have only lost 2 of their last 20 home games
• Last time these 2 sides met in Madrid it ended 2-0 for atletico 
• Dortmund have not lost a CL match since Matchday 1 against PSG
• The only team to beat Dortmund in a home game this season apart from PSG has been Stuttgart. The likes of Milan, Newcastle and Bayern all failed. 

Our verdict

This is a very open matchup, both teams look quite equal in strength and Dortmund are strong away from home this season. Picking up results in Newcastle, Milan and Munich over the last few months. Atletico tend to be strong in CL home games however so we might just see a small atletico home win tonight. However we believe that the return match in Dortmund will still be wide open after tonight.