PSV host Atletico Madrid in the round 1/16 of Champions League. That will be their third duel and PSV is looking for their first victory.
PSV are playing strong this year. In 24 rounds of Eredivisie they have 18 victories, 5 draws and only one defeat which happened on September 19th. They now have eight consecutive victories in Eredivisie and are firmly holding first position in front of Ayax.
With such strong performances in the Eredivisie, Phillip Cocu’s men qualified for the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in eight years. They were second in their group, behind Wolfsburg, but in front of Manchester United against who they played two games and lost none.
Unlike PSV who are playing strong, Diego Simeone’s players are slowing down. In last five matches Rojiblancos suffered two defeats and played a goalless draw against Villareal last weekend. Consequence of that form slump is an eight points gap between Barcelona and them with the possibility of falling further behind because Atletico are going to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Diego Simeone’s players passed the group stage pretty easy with four wins, one draw and one defeat which was enough for the first place in front of Benfica. Surely, group stage was played two months ago when Atletico’s form was stronger than it is today. Antoine Griezmann certainly is the best player of Simeone’s team, but his form has also been under his capabilities. He failed to score in four consecutive games and without his contribution Rojiblancos may have serious problems against PSV.
Head to Head
These two clubs have met in he Champions league season 2008/09 in the group stage. Atletico Madrid won both games, 3:0 in Netherlands and 2:1 at their Vicente Calderon
Match Facts
- PSV have won all three of their Champions League home games this season, scoring exactly two goals each time.
- PSV have won only one of their eight Champions League against Spanish opposition (D3 L4), that was against Deportivo La Coruña in December 2003.
- PSV have also never kept a clean sheet in their eight Champions League games against Spanish clubs.
- Atletico Madrid have kept 11 clean sheets in their last 15 Champions League games.
- Diego Simeone’s men have failed to find the net in four of their last six Champions League away games.
Team News
Adres Guadrado should return to the field after 3 weeks of absence. Phillip Cocu has no other worries.
Diego Simeone can’t count on Tiago, Augusto Fernandez and Carasco.
Predicted Lineups
PSV: Zoet; Brenet, Moreno, Bruma, Arias; van Ginkel, Hendrix, Propper; Locardia, Narsingh, Perriero
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Juanfran, Godin, Savic, Filipe Luis; Correa, Saul, Gabi, Koke; Torres, Griezman.
From : SS.com
