Wednesday 20h October 2000hrs Borussia Dortmund v Atletico Madrid Football – Europe – Champions League These two teams have recent experiences of reaching the final of this competition only for their dreams to be ended by their archest rivals – twice in Atletico’s case. Thoughts of reaching the final this season will be some way off but both appear to be in a very strong position to make it out the group stage at the very least with maximum points from the first two match days. As such, this impending double header against each other is likely to go a long way to deciding who finishes top of Group A. Continue reading for a match preview of Borussia Dortmund against Atletico Madrid with a best bet selected.
Dortmund continue to set the pace in the Bundesliga with a three point lead at the top following a dominant 4-0 win away to Stuttgart on Saturday. They remain unbeaten this season in all competitions and their impressive scoring shows no sign of stopping either with goals coming from all over the team ensuring they’re a constant threat for their opponents. Dortmund’s form in the Champions League has been similar in that they have defeated Club Brugge on the road before a comfortable win at home to Monaco last time out. Coach Lucien Favre will be well aware of the importance of the games against Atletico in their efforts to finish top of the group and the test that the Spanish club will bring. Dortmund, especially being at home, are very unlikely to change their approach, though, and will be looking to their in form striker Paco Alcacer to make an impact against his countrymen following an astonishing start to his time in Germany. Alcacer has scored seven goals thus far and is returning to the sort of form that made him one of the most dangerous strikers in European football whilst at Valencia.
This year’s Champions League final will be played at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano and Atletico Madrid would love nothing more than to reach what would be their third final in this competition in the last five seasons, in their own stadium. The current Europa League holders have started their group stage in an efficient manner with wins over Monaco and Club Brugge but they have been more workmanlike than anything else – and that has been the case in La Liga as well where they currently sit in fifth spot with four wins and four draws from their first nine matches. Diego Simeone’s men are only a couple of points off top, however, and are unlikely to be too far away in a league that looks wide open with a faltering Barcelona and extremely lacklustre Real Madrid. The squad that Simeone has assembled was done so to compete on both fronts and Wednesday’s match will provide a good measure of where this Atleti team are in a European context. Having been knocked out at the group stage 12 months ago, the combative Argentine boss will not be taking anything from granted in terms of qualification and a result in Germany would be a big step towards that.
Borussia Dortmund v Atletico Madrid Betting Tip
For all that these two are very regular diners at Europe’s top table this will be the first time that Borussia Dortmund have faced Atletico Madrid in over 20 years. It’s quite remarkable but it also adds to the fascination as we’re so used to seeing a lot of the same fixtures in the Champions League. Dortmund have been scintillating at times this season, scoring goals for fun and build their whole game on the creativity and technique of their whole time, but particularly from middle to front where they have so many options. Their opponents are very different and we know that Simeone’s team are a much more rigid outfit who are excellent defensively but can sometimes be found wanting in an attacking sense. It’s a system that has worked so well for them, however, and opposition teams find it very hard to play against.
The clash in styles makes this a difficult one to predict but Dortmund, for all their great play going forward, remain vulnerable in defence and that is as much down to their desire to attack as it is the personnel who occupy their defensive positions. Atletico will looks to use that to their advantage and although not in great scoring form they have the players to counter effectively which makes both teams to score an appealing proposition.
Selection: Both teams to score 4/5 @ Betfred
