Atletico Madrid vs Leicester City
UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal First Leg
Date: Wednesday, 12th April 2017
Kick-off at 19:45 UK / 20:45 CET
Venue: Estadio Vicente Calderon (Madrid).
However, Diego Simeone’s men have won 16 and lost just one of their 21 home games in this competition since he took over, and are clear 2/7 (1.29) favourites to take the upper hand in the tie with yet another victory.
Even so, the hosts were held to a 0-0 home draw by Bayer Leverkusen in the last round, and there are odds of 9/2 (5.50) on them being forced to settle for a stalemate yet again here.
While they may have been relieved to avoid the real heavyweights like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, in a way the Colchoneros could be the worst possible draw for Craig Shakespeare’s team.
Unlikely to underestimate their opponents after seeing what happened to Sevilla, Simeone’s pragmatic philosophy should also ensure they do not play into the Foxes’ hands by overcommitting in attack and leaving themselves exposed on the break.
Instead, fans are likely to witness a cagey tactical battle at a ground that has rarely been the setting for open European encounters, with the hosts keeping 17 clean sheets in their last 20 Champions League home games but scoring more than twice on just five occasions in that run.
With this in mind, evens (2.00) seem generous on Atletico seeing under 2.5 goals for the eighth time in 10 home games in this competition when they take on a Leicester side that has scored just once in their last three on the road.
Atletico Madrid vs Leicester: Head-to-head
This is not the first time that these two teams are meeting in a UEFA competitions. They had already met twice and Atletico won both teams by winning 3 of the 4 matches. While Leicester managed a draw at home in their first ever meeting in 1961.
Madrid’s overall record against English Premier League clubs is 9W-9D-5L from 23 matches. At home, they are unbeaten in 10 matches with 5 wins and 5 draws.
Leicester’s only other Spanish League opponent other than Atletico is Sevilla, whom they met in the round of 16 of the current campaign. They lost in all three previous visits to Spain.
Atletico Madrid vs Leicester: Prediction
Atletico Madrid are huge favourites on paper, but this will be a tough test for them. Leicester are playing some fearless football at the moment and look in good scoring form. Especially, Jamie Vardy is the man to back here after scoring 6 goals in his last 8 appearance for the club. It is almost certain that the Foxes will net here. While Madrid could edge a win here, but not by more than a 1 goal margin.
Atletico Madrid vs Leicester: Bet Tips
Asian Handicap +1.5 for Leicester City at the odds of 2.00 with Bet365
Both Teams to Score at 2.60 with Betfair.
