Chelsea v Atletico Madrid

Champions League Semi-finals Leg 2

Stamford Bridge

30-04-2014 @ 19.45 UK

How are the two teams form?

Chelsea's reserves won against Liverpool yesterday and brought them only two points behind the league leaders. The fact that Mourinho saved some of his players for Wednesday match is promising and we can hope we won't park the bus as he did in Madrid. 

Atletico Madrid took another win the weekend and are now six points ahead of Real Madrid, and looks like the Champions of Spain.

Not much have changed in the history of the two sides, but each side now has a win each while two matches have ended in a draw.

What are the probable line-ups?

Petr Cech and John Terry are definitely out for Chelsea. Javier Manquillo is injured for Atletico Madrid while Gabi is out with a suspension.

Schwarzer

Ivanovic - Cahill - Luiz - Azpilicueta

Ramires - Lampard

Willian - Oscar - Schurrle

Ba

_________________________

Costa - Diego

Koke - Suarez - Sosa - Garcia

Filipe - Miranda - Godin - Juanfran

Courtois

What to expect from this match?

Jose Mourinho will probably park the bus at Stamford Bridge and hope to beat Atletico on the contras. However, Atletico's offensive will get in Chelsea defends in trouble, especially as the experienced Terry is out with an injury. On paper Atletico are the favorites and they should be the team with most possession throughout the match. I expect Atletico to show that they are one of the European top clubs to keep an eye on for the future. 

What are the odds?

Chelsea to win: 13/10 (Bet365)

Atletico Madrid to win: 13/5 (BetVictor)

Draw: 23/10 (SkyBet)

Atletico Madrid v Chelsea

Vincente Calderón Stadium

UEFA Champions League Semi-finals

22-04-2014 @ 19.45 UK

How are the two teams current form?

Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in all of their home matches this season of the La Liga. The same matters for their Champions League campaign where the Madrilenes haven't lost a single match so far. 

Chelsea are currently second in the Premier League after losing against Sunderland in the weekend. The Londoners won their Champions League group, but unlike Atletico they lost two of their matches. Furthermore, Chelsea lost the first leg of the quarter-finals against PSG, but managed to make an incredible comeback at Stamford Bridge. 

The two sides have met three times before, latest in the UEFA Super Cup in 2012, where Atletico won 4-1.

What are the probable line-ups?

The home side is without Arda Turan and Javier Manquillo while Chelsea more or less should have an injury free squad for the match, but will be missing Eden Hazard.

Courtois

Juanfran - Godín - Miranda - Filipe

Garcia - Tiago - Gabi - Koke

Adrián

Costa

_______________________________

Eto'o

Schürrle - Willian - Oscar

Ramires - Matic

Azpilicueta - Cahill - Terry - Ivanovic

Cech

What to expect from this match?

Atletico was without Diego Costa, but Koke took over against Barcelona in the Quarter finals and with Costa back, they look even stronger. Comparing the two sides season, Atletico are the favorites and looks to have the best squad, especially given Chelsea's striker problems. However, Chelsea are unbeaten in their 15 last clashes with Spanish sides in the Champions League. The three competitive encounters between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea have produced 13 goals, so there should be a good chance we will see the ball in the back of the net on Tuesday. 

What are the odds?

Ladbrokes offer odds 1 on a Atletico victory while a Chelsea triumph gives 7/2 at 888Sport. Betvictor offers a 12/5 odds on a draw. Furthermore, Eto'o as first goalscorer gives back odds 8 at SkyBet.

Spain was entered the match as favorites. However, it was Portugal who was the most dominant team. Spain started best with Arbeloa shooting over the goal, from the edge of the box. Portugal was soon able to handle the pressure from Spain, and prevent the Spaniards from playing their short passes. The high pressure from Portugal gave Ronaldo some chances, but the superstar was unable to score. The score at the break was 0-0 in an even match.

The second half started as even as the first ended. Both teams had their chances, but Portugal seemed to be most interested in winning the match, while Spain looked as a team hoping for extra time. In the 90th minute, Ronaldo was close to ruin Spain’s plan when he suddenly was free in front of goal. However, the captain missed once again. This meant that the match went on to extra time.

While Portugal had been the best team in the first ninety minutes, Spain was suddenly the superior team. After 103 minutes of play, Rui Patricio saved Portugal, after a chance to Iniesta. Portugal managed to avoid the pressure from Spain, and the penalty shootout was up next.

Both Xabi Alonso and Joao Moutinho had their shots saved before Iniesta, Pepe, Pique and Nani scored. Sergio Ramos sent Spain in front before Bruno Alves hit the crossbar giving Fabregas the chance of sending his nation in the final. The midfielder did not miss, and while Ronaldo was annoyed of missing the final, Spain celebrated.

Germany was seen as one of the favorites for the EURO 2012 titel, before the competition started. Italy wanted it different. Mats Hummels was close to bring Germany in front with after a corner. Buffon did not look well in the situation, and the ball was saved on the line by Pirlo. However, after twenty minutes play it was Italy and Barlotelli that scored the first goal. Cassano left three German defenders look very poor before sending a perfect cross into the head of Mario Barlotelli. The Germans had problems after the scoring and looked much shaken. Ten minutes before the break, Barlotelli struck again. The striker was alone with Neuer and with an amazing kick he sent Italy in front by two. This was also the result at the break.

In the break, Joachim Löw substituted both Gomez and Podolski for Marco Reus and Klose. Reus was close to reduce for Germany, but his excellent performance free kick was saved by Buffon. Germany put morer and more pressure on Italy, who began to play more and more defensive. However, the Germans had problems breaking through the defends, while the Italian had one counter attack after the other. Than, two minutes into the overtime Germany were awarded a penalty which Özil scored on. However, it was not enough to bring them back in the match, and Italy will meet Spain in the EURO 2012 final!

Carlsberg Man of the Match Award: Andrea Pirlo, Italy

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