The second of this week’s two Champions League semi-final ties sees Atletico Madrid and Arsenal face off in the first leg at the Estadio Metropolitano on Wednesday night.
Diego Simeone’s side pulled off a mini-upset at the quarter-final stage by eliminating Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate.
However, since then, the capital club has crashed to defeat in the Copa del Rey final, losing on penalties to Real Sociedad.
Atletico Madrid did return to winning ways at the weekend with a 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao, keeping them comfortably inside the top four of the La Liga table.
As for Arsenal, they gave their Premier League title bid a much-needed boost with a narrow 1-0 win over Newcastle last time out, a result that moved them back to the summit.
The Gunners came through the Champions League league phase as the only team to win all eight of their matches, and have since seen off both Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting Lisbon to reach this stage.
How the bookies view it: Gunners to fire first
The bookmakers are struggling to separate the sides, although the pre-match odds do point towards Arsenal drawing first blood on Wednesday night, with an away win priced at 8/5 on bet365.
An Atletico Madrid success can be backed at 9/5 with the same firm, while a first-leg stalemate is trading at 9/4.
Head-to-head: Arsenal could hold a psychological edge
Somewhat surprisingly, Atletico Madrid and Arsenal have only crossed paths on three occasions in continental competition, the most recent of which saw Arsenal claim an emphatic 4-0 win at the Emirates during the league phase of this season’s tournament.
Players to watch: Saka to provide a spark?
After making a timely return from injury at the weekend, Bukayo Saka could be restored to the starting XI on Wednesday night. The Arsenal ace is as big as 13/8 with Paddy Power to register either a goal or an assist.
Julian Alvarez has committed two or more fouls in five of his last six Champions League appearances, so a repeat here looks terrific value at 11/8 with bet365.
Predicted line-ups
The hosts are expected to be without midfielder Pablo Barrios after he picked up an injury during Saturday’s 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao. Ademola Lookman, David Hancko and Jose Gimenez are also currently occupying places in the Atletico Madrid medical room.
Eberechi Eze and Kai Havertz were both forced off during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Newcastle, though manager Arteta remains hopeful that both will be available for selection on Wednesday night. Bukayo Saka made a welcome return at the weekend, but Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino all missed out.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Gonzalez; Griezmann, Alvarez
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Anything else catch the eye?
Given that both teams have scored in all seven of Atletico Madrid’s Champions League home games this season, a repeat on Wednesday night looks too big to ignore at 19/20 with bet365.
While Arsenal haven’t been as consistent on the BTTS front, they did play out a 1-1 draw away at Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.
A similar scoreline here wouldn’t come as a surprise, so the 1-1 draw in correct score market be worth a speculative punt at best odds of 11/2 with Betfred.
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