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Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Manchester United:
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay; Sancho, Fernandes, Pogba; Ronaldo
Atletico Madrid:
Oblak; Savic, Felipe, Reinildo; Llorente, De Paul, Koke, Herrera, Lodi; Felix, Correa
Manchester United and Atletico Madrid will be looking to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League when they face at Old Trafford for the second leg of their last-16 tie. The reverse fixture was played at Wanda Metropolitano and finished 1:1. Joao Felix's early header from Renan Lodi's inviting cross gave the hosts a dream start after just seven minutes. They controlled the result for almost 80 minutes, but United equalized through young Anthony Elanga. The 19-year-old had been on the pitch less than six minutes after replacing Marcus Rashford, when he raced onto Bruno Fernandes' perfectly-weighted pass to roll the ball past home goalkeeper Jan Oblak with his first touch to earn his side an 1:1 draw. Atletico were unlucky to not score late on themselves when Antoine Griezmann rattled the visitors crossbar.
Manchester United were not consistent so far in the Champions League. They started with a 2:1 defeat to Young Boys in Switzerland, but secured progress after obtained three wins and two draws on the remaining five matches. The Red Devils are also inconsistent in domestic Premier League in the last period. They lost 4:1 to Manchester City, shared the points with Watford, while on Sunday outplayed Tottenham with 3:2 at Old Trafford. It was "one-man show" as Cristiano Ronaldo scored all three goals against the Spurs. United will now switch their focus to the Champions League. To secure quarter-finals is extremely important for the interim coach Ralf Rangnick and his men. Most of the players are ready, including Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay. Fernandes was unavailable against Tottenham due to illness, Shaw missed out due to a positive COVID-19 test, while McTominay is struggling with a calf problem. Mason Greenwood remain out due to a club suspension.
Atletico Madrid were far from convincing in the group phase, winning just two of their six matches. However, it was enough for them to secure knock-out stage of the competition as they were better than Porto and AC Milan. The actual form is good, three wins on the last three matches in domestic La Liga. The Rojiblancos managed to beat Celta, Betis and Cadiz. They are currently on the fourth spot in the table, but huge 12 points behind league-leaders Real Madrid who have a match in hand. It is clear the Champions League is their only realistic chance of silverware this season. But coach Diego Simeone has big injury and suspension worries ahead of this match. He will be again without Yannick Carrasco through suspension, while Matheus Cunha, Daniel Wass, Sime Vrsaljko, Thomas Lemar, Mario Hermoso and Geoffrey Kondogbia are all injured. Jose Gimenez is rated as doubtful after suffering injury against Cadiz on Friday. Simeone has "sweet problems" about the attack as three players are looking for one starting spot - Angel Correa, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez.
Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid Prediction:
I think Manchester United could win this match. There are two reasons for my pick. First, Atletico have some issues in the contests with English opposition in the last period. They lost twice against Liverpool in the group stage this season, while the previous season suffered elimination from Chelsea in Round of 16. The second reason is connect with Manchester United. They have player able to make difference - Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese international scored a brilliant hat-trick against Tottenham and his confidence is very high. He like to play against Atletico - CR7 has scored 25 goals against Simeone's men during his professional career, making them his favorite opposition.
Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid Pick: Manchester United to win @ 2.21 with
Pinnacle