Current champions league title holders Real Madrid welcome bitter and City rivals Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 1st leg of their round of 16 UCL showdown.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have been in decent form in the competition despite only qualifying for the round of 16 after a playoff against Manchester City, a game they won over both legs, thanks to a Kylian Mbappé showdown.
They’ll face a Diego Simeone side that qualified 5th on the log during the group the first phase and didn’t need to partake in the playoffs.
Both teams have faced each other twice this season and noth games have ended up in a stalemate.
Despite ATM’s sweet form this season which has kept them in almost all major competitions this season, they can always be weary of Los Blancos when the UCL is concerned, as the 15-time title holders always maneuver their way through this competition.
Recall that Real Madrid came from behind in 2014 to clinch their 11th title in this competition, in a game that ATM had almost won. They had to go through a similar pain in 2017 as Real Madrid still beat them to it. ATM have enjoyed little or no success against their City rivals.
With Real losing to Betis over the weekend in Seville, and set to be without Ceballos and Jude Bellingham, Atletico would want to capitalize on these woes to make a bold statement in the Spanish capital tonight.
However, they can always be weary of Real’s attack line which is fully fit for this encounter. There’s no doubt that it’s going to be an exciting encounter hence we expect goals and an end to end action.
Our Prediction: Real Mardid 2:1 Atletico Madrid (FT)
