Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund meet on Wednesday for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie with neither side initially expected to make the business end of the competition. Diego Simeone's men saw off Inter in the round of 16 while Edin Terzic's side overcame PSV Eindhoven to reach the last eight with either Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona awaiting in the semifinals.
This is Atleti's third quarterfinals outing in five years but not since 2017 have they actually advanced beyond this stage with RB Leipzig and Manchester City sending them home in their two previous editions where they have come this far. Simeone and his players know that a UCL return next season is far from certain at present and a deep run here could aid their chances of getting back for the revamped format which begins next campaign.
Atleti are unbeaten in Champions League knockout games at home across both the Metropolitano Stadium and their former Vicente Calderon home with 10 wins from 16 and just four goals conceded. Dortmund have a task ahead of them then and after finishing ahead of PSG, Milan and Newcastle United, PSV were the latest to fall to the Germans who still remain maddeningly inconsistent.
BVB have suffered three consecutive UCL quarterfinal exits since their 2013 final loss to Bayern Munich and a Champions League return is not certain right now given Dortmund's position in the Bundesliga table. These two met in 2018-19 and Terzic will be keen to avoid a repeat which was a 2-0 loss in Spain despite a 4-0 thumping at Signal Iduna Park.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Apr. 10 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Metropolitano Stadium -- Madrid, Spain
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Atleti -133; Draw +275; Dortmund +350
Team news
Atleti: Antoine Griezmann is back fit and operational although Thomas Lemar is injured and Mario Hermoso is a doubt. Reinildo and Axel Witsel should join Jose Gimenez in defense while Memphis Depay is likely to miss out which brings Alvaro Morata in alongside Griezmann up top.
Potential Atleti XI: Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; Molina, Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Griezmann, Morata.
Dortmund: Nico Schlotterbeck is back but Ramy Bensebaini is out and Donyell Malen is a doubt for Terzic. Marco Reus, Sebastien Haller and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are available but Niclas Fullkrug should remain in place up top despite a goalless run of eight games now.
Potential Dortmund XI: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can, Brandt; Sancho, Fullkrug, Adeyemi.
Prediction
Atletico are the kings of grinding out wins so expect this to a be a narrow success which is perhaps decided by a single goal. Dortmund would probably take that with confidence given the home advantage that they have for the second leg. Pick: Atleti 1, Dortmund 0.
