Preview: Atletico Madrid vs. Slovan Bratislava – prediction, team news, lineups

Spanish giants Atletico Madrid hosts the Slovakian champions Slovak Bratislava for Wednesday Champions League Collision.

Atleti is in it 15th place in the league phasewhile the guests are in 35th place after failing to gain anything from the first five matchdays.

Game preview

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Atlético are currently five points clear of 25th place and just two points behind the top eight in the Champions League standings, despite having made a worrying start to the league phase.

Despite winning their opening game against RB Leipzig, Atletico are in 27th place after a heavy 4-0 defeat against Benfica and a 3-1 defeat in an unforgettable home game against Lille.

However, Diego SimeoneThe Barcelona side managed to get their European campaign back on track with back-to-back wins, coming from behind to beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Angel Correawas the injury-time winner before beating Sparta Prague 6-0 in the away game.

These victories have contributed to a nine-match winning streak in all competitions, including a sensational comeback in Sunday’s home game against Sevilla.

After an hour, Atleti were 1-3 behind and managed to equalize thanks to goals at 1-1 Antoine Griezmann And Samuel Linobefore the former scored a dramatic winner in the fourth minute of added time to seal a memorable 4-3 victory Leave Atletico in third place in La Liga and just three points behind leaders Barcelona with a game to play.

After scoring 16 goals in the last four competitive games, the Colchoneros fancy their chances of prevailing against the Slovakian team, which has the worst defensive record after the first five matchdays of the league phase with 18 goals conceded.

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Unlike their hosts, Slovan are on the verge of an early exit after struggling to adjust to life in their first appearance in the Champions League main draw.

The Slovak champions were given a harsh reality check in their first two league games, suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat to Celtic in Scotland and losing 4-0 at home to Premier League champions Manchester City.

Two more defeats against Girona and Dinamo Zagreb followed before they fought bravely in their final Champions League game against seven-time European champions AC Milan.

Tigran Barseghyan And Nino Marcelli Both got on the scoresheet as Slovan narrowly left the Italian giants behind but goals kept coming Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao And Tammy Abraham was enough to condemn them to a narrow 3-2 defeat, leaving them pointless with RB Leipzig and Young Boys at the bottom of the table.

As a result, Vladimir WhiteThe Barcelona side are six points adrift of the top 24 ahead of their final three league stage games against Atletico, Stuttgart and Bayern Munich, underlining the fact that they will need to pull off a miracle to reach the playoff round.

Slovan will travel to the Spanish capital for the first time since the 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Cup first round in October 1991, but their hopes of avoiding defeat 33 years later will be dampened by the fact , that they have lost their last three games against Spanish teams.

Atletico Madrid Champions League form:

Atlético Madrid form (all competitions):

Slovan Bratislava Champions League form:

Slovan Bratislava form (all competitions):

Team news

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Atletico Thomas Lemar could be available for selection as he has returned to training after an eight-game injury layoff.

Argentine international Nahuel Molina is available for selection in the squad on Sunday after recovering from a thigh injury.

Simeone could be tempted to bring fresh talent into his midfield Koke He is waiting in the wings for his fourth start in the league phase.

Alvarez has scored four goals in his last four games while Griezmann has scored five goals in his last four games and the pair are expected to resume their strike partnership for Wednesday’s home game.

Visitors cannot use the services of Marko Tolicwho has to serve a one-game ban after being sent off in the final phase against AC Milan on matchday five.

defender Matus Voitko Saturday’s league defeat to Zilina forced him to sit out, making him doubtful for Wednesday’s trip to the Spanish capital.

Barseghyan and David Strelec represent Slovan’s biggest goal threat as they have scored a total of 26 competitive goals this season.

Possible Atletico Madrid starting lineup:
Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez

Slovan Bratislava possible starting lineup:
Takac; Kashia, Bajric, Voet; Blackman, Savvidis, Kucka, Ignatenko, Zuberu; Barseghyan, Marcelli, Strelec

We say: Atlético Madrid – Slovan Bratislava 3-0

Atlético will be riding a wave after a great comeback against Sevilla, who have picked up nine consecutive wins in all competitions, and having shown their firepower in recent games, we believe the hosts have proved far too strong will prove to be for a Slovakian team that had problems defensively in the league phase.

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