Manchester United will be looking to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League when they welcome Atletico Madrid to Old Trafford for the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday night.
Atletico Madrid were utterly dominant in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano. They let Manchester United having plenty of the ball but hit them relentlessly with counterattacks. The Red Devils lacked sharpness and Atletico Madrid will rue their wasted opportunities as the game ended 1-1. Atletico looked better, but Elanga’s equalizer wasn’t unfair in the end.
The Reds Devils aren’t in good shape, they show a lot of oscillations, yet on the other hand, the same is with Atletico, who only recently posted a decent stretch of results.
Form Guide: Manchester United
After the defeat to Atletico, confidence would have been low and Man United entered the second leg off the back of their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend. However, Ralf Rangnick’s side were back in league action against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, recording a 3-2 win over the North London club to boost their top-four hopes.
Man United, who finished top of Group F to advance to this stage, collecting 11 points from their six matches, beat Paris Saint-Germain at this stage of the 2018-19 competition, but they failed to make it through the group stage last term, ultimately dropping into the Europa League, reaching the final before losing to Villarreal.
Form Guide: Atletico Madrid
Atletico, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday’s contest off the back of a 2-1 victory over Cadiz in La Liga on Friday, meaning that the capital giants have now been victorious in their last four league matches, which has left them inside the top four at a key stage of the campaign.
Diego Simeone’s side have triumphed in four of their last five games in all competitions, but they are not in a title race this season, so their only chance of securing silverware this season is in the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid have hit a rich vein of form. They’ve won their three games since the first leg against Manchester United with a combined scoreline of 7-2.
How the match could go
Manchester United and Atletico Madrid have met thrice to date. Atletico Madrid have won once while two games have ended in a draw. The last time the two sides locked horns was three weeks ago in the first leg which ended 1-1. Manchester United will dig their heels in and try to keep Atletico Madrid at bay on Tuesday.
With Ronaldo in fine form, they will fancy their chances. Diego Simeone’s side have been depleted due to injuries. The Red Devils should be able to come away with a precious win here.
But upsets might be here which is why we are keeping our tips outside selecting the winners.
Betting Predictions
BTTS (YES)
This has all of the makings of a fascinating second leg at Old Trafford, and we are expecting a match with plenty of twists and turns. Atletico will fancy their chances of scoring in Manchester. This match is also promising goals on both ends. United’s defense is terrible, and there is no debate about it. Maguire is a mediocre player, and whoever didn’t realize that up until this point knows nothing about football.
Luckily for the Red Devils, they have a dangerous attack with Ronaldo, who is on fire now, and a few other guys able to break Atletico’s average defense. The same goes for the guests and their respective offenses and defense. Bet9ja have 1.94, 1xbet have 2.06 and Paripesa have 2.06 odds.
Over 2.5 Goals
We also think that Tuesday’s match will have more than a few goals scored. that’s because three of the last five matches each of the teams played ended that way. Also, Atletico Madrid tend to score goals away from home with four of their last five away games ending with at least two or more goals scored from Atletico Madrid.
Los Rojiblancos are in good form; their earlier struggles have dissipated and they have a five-match unbeaten run going into this game. They have four wins in these five matches. Four times in their last five matches, they have scored two or more goals. While at Manchester United Three of their last five matches have produced over 2.5 goals and at home in the Champions League, they have three wins in five but without a clean sheet in the five matches. Bet9ja have 2.32 odds, Paripesa have 2.29 and 1xbet have 2.29 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Manchester United)
Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled this season but he was excellent against Tottenham at the weekend, grabbing a hat-trick and looking alert and fresh. He is the kind of player who can go on great scoring runs when he has the belief so siding with him here looks like the play, you can back him to score here today. Bet9ja have 2.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.20.
Sancho
Jason Sancho has since adapted to life in England with his breathtaking performances in recent weeks. The forward has just one goal in the champions league this season and he has since impressed with four-goal contributions in four games for United. Today he looks prone to find the back of the net and help United to a famous win. Bet9ja have 3.85 odds and Paripesa have 4.00 odds for him to score.
Anytime Goalscorer (Atletico)
Suarez
The forward has been eased back into the team recently. He didn’t feature in the first leg as he was on the bench for the game but we can see him here, he has a decent record against English teams and he would show that here today. Bet9ja have 3.55 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.30.
Joao Felix
He has been the major bright spark for this Atletico side with his 3 goals in 2 successive games for Atletico Madrid we can’t deny he would be a potential threat here today. Since the first leg, he has found form and been involved in the games where Atletico has won three on the spin. We can’t ignore him here today. Bet9ja have 4.25 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 4.20.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
