Champions League Quarterfinal: Dortmund – Atletico

Sebastian Haller´s late strike means that Dortmund are still very much in this tie. After being outplayed in the first half in Madrid, Terzic´side showedsome signs of recovery in the 2nd half against Atletico. The Germans will hope that with the support of die Gelbe Wand they can reach the semi final of the Champions League for the first time since 2013. Atletico have not made it past the quarter final since 2017 and will be poised to go through given the result in the first leg. 

Dortmund Team News

Terzic will be delighted that Donyell Malen is available again after missing the last few games due to injury. The Dutchman has arguably been Dortmund´s most dangerous attacker in this season and is looking to be available after coming on as a substitute over the weekend against Gladbach. However, a blow to Dortmund will be the absence of Haller. The Ivorian striker has picked up an injury over the weekend and will be unable to play. With his strength and height he would have been ideal to bing on to force a breakthrough but injury once again has struck for the unfortunate striker. 

Atletico Team News

Atletico do not have any new injury news or updates. The same players that missed the clash last week are unavailable for this weeks clash but this also means that no new players are injured or unavailable. Simeone will especially count on Morata and Griezmann upfront to make the difference as both strikers have plenty of experience with matches in this stage of the Champions League season. It will be interesting to see how Atletico will set themselves up as they have been stronger attacking wise over the last years but have the tendency to drop and sit back in Champions League Matches, especially away from home.

Dortmund Form

For the whole season it has been difficult to gauge Dortmund and predict their results. Die Borussen have been strong in most big game, picking up results on the road in big games but then struggled against smaller oppositions. Their form has put their spot for next year´s Champions League in jeopardy as they currently sit in 5th, level with RB Leipzig but with a more difficult run in , including an away game against rival Leipzig up ahead. Over the weekend they managed to clear the difficult away game against Gladbach however, which certainly will boost their confidence up ahead of tonight´s clash with Atletico. 

Atletico Form

Just like their german opponent of tonight, Atletico have seen a season of ups and downs. Big results in the cup and league against rivals Real Madrid but then unexpected defeats against lower ranked sides have seen Simeone´s side in battle for Champions League spots with Athletic Bilbao. The home win over Girona last weekend was a big result for Atletico and it seems that they have picked up a bit of form again in te most important part of the season, with 4 wins out of the last 5 game, with the only defeat coming against in form Barcelona. 

What do the stats say?

• 8 out of last 10 dortmund games have gone under 3 goals
• Dortmund have won 6 out of last 8 games
• Atletico have won 3 games in a row

Our verdict

Just as the first game we can see this game go either way really. Atletico outplayed Dortmund for large parts of the first game but failed to fully capitalise their advantage and left only a small deficit for Dortmund to overcome. Given the difference in home and away games fo Atletico and the famous atmosphere in Dortmund all make for a great clash that could go all the way. We imagine both teams having a cautious approach and therefore do not imagine seeing too many goals.