Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Atletico Madrid have enjoyed a much-improved run of form but they suffered a shock defeat the weekend in La Liga with Los Rojiblancos now facing German champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Kick-off date/time: Tuesday 21st January, 2025: UK – 8:00pm / US ET – 3:00pm / US PT – 12:00pm
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / US – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – Discovery+ / US – Paramount+
Atletico Madrid Preview: Trying to respond
Diego Simeone has stumbled upon a 4-4-2 system for Atletico Madrid that has been working very well as they mount a genuine title challenge in La Liga but Los Rojiblancos need a response after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to city rivals Leganes at the Metropolitano at the weekend.
Prior to that loss to Lega, Atleti had enjoyed 15 successive victories across all competitions. They are challenging to finish in the top eight to try and avoid the knockout playoffs in La Liga, most recently defeating Slovan Bratislava by three goals to one in this competition.
Bayer Leverkusen Preview: Rediscovering their form
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen play an entertaining style of football but that style has evolved slightly into a more defensive and controlled manner so they can try and get back to grinding out wins after winning both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal last season.
Leverkusen come into this one on the back of a comfortable and impressive 3-1 defeat of Borussia Monchengladbach at the BayArena at the weekend and that means Leverkusen have now enjoyed 11 successive victories across all competitions.
Atletico Madrid Team News: Key doubts
As mentioned, Diego Simeone has found a settled 4-4-2 with a regular eleven in the last couple of months but key centre-back Jose Maria Gimenez is now a key injury doubt alongside Norway international striker Alexander Sorloth.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Lino; Griezmann, Alvarez
Unavailable:
Questionable: Gimenez (Injured), Sorloth (Injured)
Bayer Leverkusen Team News: Switching systems
For the first time during his tenure, Xabi Alonso recently switched from a three-at-the-back to a 4-4-2 but they have returned to the 3-5-2 system. Nigeria international striker Victor Boniface remains sidelined alongside both Jeanuel Belocian and Amine Adli.
Predicted XI (3-5-1-1): Kovar; Mukiele, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo; Wirtz; Schick
Unavailable: Belocian (Injured), Adli (Injured), Boniface (Injured)
Questionable: Terrier (Injured)
Key Stats
- Coming soon
Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction
Atletico Madrid, despite reverting back to the fundamental principles of Diego Simeone with his 4-4-2 system, have actually been quite attacking and entertaining to watch throughout their impressive run. They now face a Bayer Leverkusen side that have perhaps gone the other way from a gung-ho but effective style to something a little more pragmatic and the likelihood is that they set up to counter-attack in the Spanish capital so a low-scoring affair would appear quite likely for this one.
Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen Tip: Under 3.5 goals
