Arsenal Form and Line-up
Arsenal have hit the home straight of the season in phenomenal form. Under Mikel Arteta, the team are still unbeaten in the Champions League this campaign and have been showing impressive power in recent Premier League matches.
Last Saturday the hosts cruised past Fulham 3:0, almost in training mode: Viktor Gyokeres scored twice by the 45th minute, while Bukayo Saka, back from injury, registered a goal and created four chances in a single half.
Arteta was so confident in the result that he took his key players off as early as the 60th minute. Before that there had been a 1:0 clean-sheet win over Newcastle, underlining the reliability of the defence – Arsenal have conceded just one goal in their last three competitive matches.
Key numbers for Arsenal:
Arsenal have conceded only six goals in the Champions League (the best record in the competition).
Arsenal have not received a single red card in this Champions League campaign.
Arteta's side have scored no more than one goal in eight of their last nine matches.
The English club have scored in the first half in five of their last six matches.
Probable line-up (4-2-3-1): David Raya — Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori — Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice — Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli — Viktor Gyokeres
Out of the squad: Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz (injuries), Martin Odegaard (doubtful)
Atletico Madrid Form and Line-up
Atletico Madrid come into the game on an emotional rollercoaster. After a painful defeat in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad (2:2, 4:5 on penalties), the team under Diego Simeone produced a mixed run of performances. In La Liga there was a shock defeat to Elche (2:3), followed by a come-from-behind win over Athletic Club (3:2).
In the previous league round the Madrid side routinely beat Valencia 2:0, with Simeone opting for full rotation and leaving his entire first-choice XI on the bench. Atletico will therefore be fully armed for the clash with Arsenal. However, the visitors' main problem is their away form in Europe: just two wins in seven Champions League away matches this season, including a group-stage defeat to Arsenal in London (0:4).
Key numbers for Atletico:
Simeone's team have scored in 12 consecutive Champions League matches.
Atletico have conceded in six of their last seven games.
Atletico have scored 35 goals in this Champions League campaign, with only Bayern Munich (42) and PSG (43) ahead of them.
In six of their previous seven matches the Madrid club have conceded in the first half.
Probable line-up (4-4-2): Jan Oblak — Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill, Robin Le Normand, Matteo Ruggeri — Giuliano Simeone, Koke, Johnny Cardoso, Ademola Lookman — Antoine Griezmann, Julian Alvarez
Out of the squad: Pablo Barrios, Jose Maria Gimenez, Nicolas Gonzalez (injuries)
