Atletico Madrid arrive at Bayer Leverkusen for Wednesday's Champions League last 16, first leg, clash hoping for a sixth straight clean-sheet in Europe, with Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann hunting more goals.
Between them the pair have already scored 37 goals this season as the 2014 Champions League finalists look to leave Leverkusen’s BayArena with an advantage in the hunt for a quarter-final place.
Former Bayern Munich striker Mandzukic has already shown Pep Guardiola what he is missing in Bavaria by scoring 20 goals, while Griezmann has hit the net 17 times for Atletico this season.
French midfielder Griezmann says Diego Simeone’s Atletico need a good start in Leverkusen, just as they had in Saturday’s 3-0 home La Liga win over Almeria to stay third in the table.
“We need to keep working and enjoying the games like we are at the moment,” said Griezmann after scoring in the 20th and 29th minute following Mandzukic’s 13th-minute penalty.
“We need to face all the games the same way, trying to win and coming out flying from the start.”
The only casualty for Madrid is midfielder Koke, who will miss the first leg with a hamstring injury having scored two goals and provided four assists in the group stages.
Olympiakos were the last team to score against Atletico when they enjoyed a 3-2 group stage win in Greece back in September.
Since then, Atletico Madrid have scored 12 goals without reply in Europe, including a 5-0 thumping of Malmo and a 4-0 thrashing of Olympiakos in the return leg.
Bayer have never won a last 16 tie in the competition’s current format and will have to work hard to change that against an Atletico side who finished top of Group A ahead of Juventus.
Leverkusen are winless in their last three Bundesliga matches and have had little to cheer about at this stage of the competition in recent years.
They were beaten 4-0 at home by Paris Saint-Germain last season on the way to a 6-1 aggregate defeat.
That came two years after Lionel Messi ran riot when Bayer’s 3-1 defeat in Leverkusen preceded a 7-1 humiliation away to Barcelona in 2012 when Messi netted five times.
Leverkusen are without Australia winger Robbie Kruse, who has an ankle injury, while defensive midfielder Sven Bender and defender Tin Jedvaj are doubtful with knee and hamstring injuries respectively.
The club will also be without suspended defender Omer Toprak, who was sent off in their final group stage match at Benfica which ended in a goalless draw.
Having dropped to sixth in the Bundesliga after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Augsburg, qualifying for next season’s Champions League is of more pressing concern than progressing in this season’s edition.
“Of course I am concerned for our European qualification for next season,” said Leverkusen’s director of sport Rudi Voller.
“We have simply given too many points away this season.
“A few things aren’t working as we’d like them to.”
South Korea striker Son Heung-min will be looking to add to his three Champions League goals in six games so far this season, having also netted a Bundesliga hat-trick in Leverkusen’s 5-4 defeat to Wolfsburg ten days ago.
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills