THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RETURNS TODAY AS DIEGO SIMEONE'S FORMIDABLE ATLETICO FACE REVIVED CHELSEA AT THE ARENA NATIONALA STADIUM IN BUCURESTI, ROMANIA AT 2300HRS (GMT).
Chelsea have a tough row to hoe later today as they find themselves en route to one of their most crucial match and the biggest test for Tuchel. t. Chelsea al remains unbeaten under the leadership of its new coach , Thomas Tuchel; Having won 4 of the last 5 and conceding only twice One being an own goal from Antonio Rudiger.
However, if they have to outplay the current La Liga leaders, Chelsea have to be more clinical in front of the goal after being goal-shy in the past few matches; , A problem the managervowed to work on.
On the other side,Atletico are top of the la liga table. The Spanish giants are 3 points ahead of second placed City rivals Real Madrid and with one game at hand. Atletico have only won two of the last 5 after their 2-0 lose to 8th placed levante.
Atlectico Madrid’s Coach Simeone referred to Chelsea as “ strong” and promised to give it all to win today. The Argentine emphasized:
“It’s a strong club, financially, Since last year, they have spent enormously. The coach (Tuchel) is important and he has made a strong impression. It’s a young and good squad and they invest in young players”
Atletico VS Chelsea: H2H record
The two sides have clashed 7 times sharing the spoils thrice and 2 wins apart. Interestingly, both titans scored 11 goals apiece.The Last time they clashed was back in 2017 where Chelsea progressed after winning 3-2 on aggregate. It was in this tie that Atletico lost at home in the KO stages for the last time and are yet to lose at home since.
Will Chelsea have advantage at the Arena Nationalia?
Atletico vs Chelsea: Team news
Hector Herrera is missing from Simeone’s side after going into isolation; As well as Jose Jimenez and Belgian international Yannick Carrasco ( both muscle strains) and defender Sime Vrsaljko.
Nonetheless, the spanish giants are boosted by the return of a solid Stefan Savic.
Chelsea will be without Veteran Thiago Silva who was injured in the blues 1-0 win over Tottenham. The blues are boosted by the return of sensational Christian Pulisic and GERMAN Kai Havertz who’ve been out after calf and muscle problems respectively.
On caution,Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount and Ziyech will miss the second leg if they are to be booked today.
While on the other hand, Atletico’s Left back Lodi and returning Savic could be booked and end up missing the second leg.
Aletico Madrid vs Chelsea: Predictions
With 11 goals apiece in the last 7 meetings and 3 draws, this is a match not to expect so many goals so Under 2.5 looks safe.Basing on the lack of threat in front of goal by the two teams, a goal less tie (0-0) is likely.
