7M INSIGHT - Atletico de Madrid vs Chelsea FC
Posted Wednesday, September 27, 2017 by 7M Sport
Chelsea hits the road to Spain on Wednesday to face Atletico de Madrid in the Champions League group stage.
Atletico de Madrid
It has been an unusual start for Atletico de Madrid in 2017/18. Atletico de Madrid have managed 4 wins and 3 draws from their 7 games, with their failures largely being down to a lack of firepower. Diego Simeone’s side are yet to lose a match this season and are currently 2nd in La Liga, 4 points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
The right back Sime Vrsaljko and center midfielder Augusto Fernandez could miss out for the hosts here due to injuries, while Fernando Torres is likely to make his appearance. He has scored many goals in all sorts of competitions over the last few years, but he's never lit the world fire when faced his former side Chelsea. Could he help Atletico to win by being at the right spot? Maybe it could be one of the main attractions of this match.
Atletico and The Blues have met 5 times before, with 4 matches coming in the Champions League and 1 in the UEFA Super Cup. Atleti have got 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. The last time these two clubs met in European competition was back in 2014. The Champions League semi-finals would be the setting and Diego Simeone’s men earned a 3-1 aggregate victory to progress to the final.
Chelsea FC
Chelsea are playing almost without mistake from the start of the season. They know how to attack and defend well. They are very balanced and that’s the key for their success, along with their great manager. The Blues come into this match in a good run of form, after 2 comfortable wins. First, a 5-1 against Nottingham Forest on the League Cup and then, this past weekend, a 4-0 win over Stoke City, away from home, in a beautiful performance from Antonio Conte’s team, that should increase their confidence levels for this match.
Antonio Conte will also stick to his preferred 3-4-3 formation for this match. They will be witout midfielder Drinkwater due to injury. David Luiz is doubtful for the match at the same time. All other players are ready to play and they will try to win points here. When it comes to this, we need to mention Alvaro Morata who has scored 6 goals in total in the Premier League. He will look to make an impact on Wednesday.
The scene that Chelsea FC were knocked out by Atletico de Madrid in the 2013/14 Champions League was still in sight, allowing them to pay more attention to this game. Thus, The Blues are eager to win in revenge.
KEY FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Both sides are famed for their defensive capabilities.
Two teams are hot in recent form and have excellent performance, with close overall quality.
They are eager to win points here.
ODDS
The AH opening line is -0.5 for the hosts with extremely long odds, and the line and odds have decreased to -0.25 with odds at medium level. William Hill offer odds of 3.4 for the Atletico de Madrid to win.
CONCLUSION
Given both sides' overall strength and playing style, we expect both giants to play out a draw in this game.
(7M/Abby)
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