The Citizens will be looking to build one their 1-0 first-leg lead as they travel to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to face Atletico Madrid in their second leg of the Champions League Quarterfinals.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid has showed us a glimpse of their defensive football when they knocked out Manchester United in the Round of 16 and they have doubled down on that approach last week on the blue side of Manchester. The defensive play has nearly worked for them, until 2 minutes into his field time Phil Foden, from a brilliant bit of play picked out Kevin De Bruyne inside the area and the Belgian had no problems tucking the ball away and giving Manchester 1-goal lead. Simeone`s approach was pretty obvious as he tried to minimize the damage against a goal-scoring machine like City and rather take charge at home in Madrid, but after failing to register a single attempt on goal the Spanish side received some backlash for the “hanging-on” performance. The Atletico side did not do their confidence any justice over the weekend as they took an unexpected 1-0 loss to Mallorca. Playing in front the home crowd, the onus on Atletico Madrid will be to go all out for the victory and this will certainly be an exciting game to watch.
Manchester City
The Citizens showed an impressive ability to be able to dictate the play in Manchester and even break through a fully parked Atletico outfit. Manchester City have played a captivating clash against fellow title contenders Liverpool over the weekend which ended in a 2-2 draw with Kevin De Bruyne yet again finding the back of the net, followed by a goal from Gabriel Jesus. Going to Madrid Pep will be aware that Atletico will not play the same dormant football in front of the home fans as they did in the first leg, but a clash against Liverpool has shown that the Manchester outfit are more than capable of handling an attacking side. Overall, they are looking exceptional in all aspects of their play and whether Simeone will decide to park the bus or go all out attack, Man City will find a way to capitalize either way.
Verdict
With Diego Simeone it is hard to predict which approach he will take tomorrow night. Although they are not packing their bags just yet, Manchester City have showed their ability to break down a deep defensive line as well as manage and find the back of the net against a dangerous attacking side. Whichever way Atletico will decide to play, I think Pep will find ways secure a spot in the Champions League semi-finals.
BetOlimp Best Bets