Atletico Madrid vs Juventus
Champions League 2019/20 season
Venue: Wanda Metropolitano
Date: Wednesday 18th September, 2019
Kick-off: 8pm
Two of Europe's heavyweights go head-to-head in one of the ties of the round as Atletico Madrid welcome 2017 finalists Juventus on matchday one in the Champions League.
Maurizio Sarri takes charge of his first game in the competition after recovering from pneumonia, but facing off against Diego Simeone's tactically-sound Atletico could give the Italian a headache.
The Rojiblancos sit top of the Liga table after three wins from four games, though they did suffer a surprise 2-0 defeat away to Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Juve, meanwhile, stuttered to a goalless draw against Fiorentina at the weekend and that suggests all may not be well in the Bianconeri camp at present.
Team news and predicted lineup
Atletico Madrid coach Simeone could be without star stopper Jan Oblak, who missed the game at Real Sociedad with a head injury. Antonio Adan is on standby if the Slovenian fails his fitness test.
Alvaro Morata (knee) and Thomas Partey (hamstring) are expected to miss out, with Simeone likely to name an unchanged lineup from the weekend.
Juventus could be without three key players for the trip to the Spanish capital.
Douglas Costa, Miralem Pjanic and Danilo all came off injured against Fiorentina and may not recover in time to make the squad.
Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot may have to wait to make their European debuts for the Old Lady after their respective free transfers this summer.
Atletico XI: Oblak; Trippier, Gimenez, Savic, Lodi; Vitolo, Koke, Saul, Lemar; Diego Costa, Joao Felix.
Juventus XI: Szczesny; De Sciglio, Bonucci, de Ligt, Alex Sandro; Bentancur, Matuidi, Khedira; Douglas Costa, Higuain, Ronaldo.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Juventus
Given how adept these two sides are defensively, a goalless stalemate is not entirely out of the question.
But with a Portuguese star on either side - Felix for Atletico, Ronaldo for Juve - it seems at least of them will make an impression.
With these teams likely to be fighting for the top spots in the group, a draw appears to be the more likely outcome.
Tickets
Click here for more information about Atletico Madrid tickets.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Atletico to win: 6/4
- Draw: 2/1
- Man City to win: 23/10
First goalscorer
- Cristiano Ronaldo: 4/1
- Joao Felix: 5/1
- Diego Costa: 11/2
- Gonzalo Higuain: 6/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream information
The match will be televised live on BT Sport/ESPN.
It can also be streamed live online via the BT app and website. Coverage starts at 7.15pm.
You can follow all the action and analysis on Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to head (h2h) results and history
Atletico edge the head-to-head against Juventus with two wins to the Italians' one, with a draw thrown in for good measure.
