Lazio
Atletico Madrid
On September 19, Stadio Olimpico (Rome) will host the match of the 1st round of the Champions League, in which Lazio will compete with Atletico Madrid. The battle will start at 21:00 CET.
Lazio
The club begins its third season under the rule of Maurizio Sarri. “The chain-smoking Maverick” would not have appeared in the capital if not for the decision of his predecessor, Simone Inzaghi, to move to Milan. It is a rare case when everyone benefits from one and the same thing. It is reasonable to mention that “the Eagles” progressed with the new coach. And they finished the previous season as the vice-champions, losing only to incredible Napoli. On the other hand, “the Sky Blues” willingly sacrificed the European tournaments for the sake of that – they quickly stopped the participation there. Still, now this is no longer the Europa League, which is of little interest to most Italians, but the Champions League, and the team needs to spend energy and attention on it. The season for “the Laziale” did not start perfectly, with a couple of defeats from modest rivals, Lazio and Genoa, but they were followed by an away 2-1 score in the battle against Napoli.
Atletico
The team returns to the Champions League after the failure in the previous draw. Then the Spanish giant managed to take only 5 points in the company of Porto, Bayer and Brugge (and it started with a victory in the match with “the Dragons”). As a result, “the Mattress Makers” completely finished the struggle because of the 4th place, without even advancing to the Europa League! Focusing on the inner arena, “the Cholo Team” eventually finished in the traditional 3rd position of the Primera. The state of things is similar now – nothing has changed, both the claims to the title and the falling outside the quartet of the best in Spanish football are unlikely. So, it would not be surprising that Diego Simeone would like to make the Champions League a priority, especially since the group he came across is quite “digestible” again.
The statistics of head-to-head matches
The last time the opponents played in the 1/16 finals of the Europa League, which was in 2012. Then, “the Mattress Makers” won both matches: a 3-1 victory in Rome and a 1-0 success in Madrid.
Predictions
Bookmakers give a cautious advantage to the guests. Still, the giants have nowhere to rush yet; we bet that the first match between pragmatic Sarri and Simeone will bring “total: under 2.5” (odd: 1.84).
