Atletico Madrid and Club Brugge will reconvene for the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie at the Metropolitano Stadium on Tuesday evening.
This tie remains finely poised after last week’s enthralling 3-3 draw in Belgium left everything to play for.
Since then, Diego Simeone’s side has been involved in another high-scoring encounter, securing a 4-2 victory over Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday.
Atletico will now swiftly turn their attention back to continental matters as they look to get the better of Club Brugge and secure their place in the last 16.
The visitors also head into this clash on the back of a weekend win, having edged out Oud-Heverlee Leuven 2-1.
Ivan Leko’s men will not be daunted by the task at hand in the Spanish capital, particularly after reaching the last 16 last season – most notably dispatching Atalanta 5-2 on aggregate at this stage of the competition.
How the bookies view it: Atletico Madrid to advance
Despite last week’s 3-3 draw in Belgium, the bookmakers’ odds point firmly towards Atletico Madrid getting the job done on Tuesday evening with minimal fuss, with a home win priced at 4/11 with bet365.
Club Brugge head into the return leg as sizeable 11/2 outsiders with the same firm, while a repeat of last week’s stalemate is also considered unlikely at 5/1.
Head to head: Another stalemate in store?
Last week’s first leg was the fifth time the two sides have met in this competition in the past eight years. Notably, it produced a third draw between the sides across that five-game that run, with each team also registering a win.
Players to watch: More joy for Julian?
After grabbing a goal in last week's first leg, Julian Alvarez looks worthy of consideration to repeat the trick this midweek at 10/11 on bet365. The Argentine ace boasts an impressive return of five strikes across his eight appearances in this season's Champions League.
Club Brugge will once again turn to talisman Christos Tzolis for inspiration on Tuesday night. The Greek attacker struck a dramatic late equaliser in the first leg and looks terrific value to score at anytime here at 3/1 with bet365.
Predicted line-ups
Perhaps with one eye on this week’s second leg, Atletico Madrid boss Simeone opted for some squad rotation against Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday. The Atleti chief is therefore expected to revert to his strongest starting XI on Tuesday evening, though he will still be without the injured duo Nicolas Gonzalez and Pablo Barrios.
Dani van den Heuvel and Lynnt Audoor were absent for Club Brugge last week and are still doubtful for this week’s return clash, while Raphael Onyedika is ruled out through suspension.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Hancko, Pubill, Ruggeri; Lookman, Koke, Llorente, Simeone; Sorloth, Alvarez
Club Brugge: Mignolet; Seys, Mechele, Ordonez, Sabbe; Vanaken, Vetlesen, Stankovic; Diakhon, Tresoldi, Tzolis
Anything else catch the eye?
With another action-packed clash expected in the Spanish capital on Tuesday evening, the 20/21 on BoyleSports for both teams to score and over 2.5 goals holds plenty of appeal.
Not only would this selection have been the right call in Belgium last week, but it also landed in each of Atletico Madrid’s four home fixtures during the league phase of the competition.
The same combination paid out in Club Brugge’s away trips to Atalanta and Kairat Almaty, further strengthening the case for a repeat at the Metropolitano.
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