Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid Match Analysis and Prediction

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Atletico Madrid will be looking to make it back-to-back victories at the start of their 2022-23 Champions League campaign when they take on Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.

While Diego Simeone’s side claimed a 2-1 victory over Porto in their opening Group B fixture, Leverkusen suffered a 1-0 defeat to Club Brugge in their first game in the section.

Leverkusen finished third in the Bundesliga last season, which saw them secure a spot in the group stage of this season’s Champions League, and they would have fancied their chances of progressing from Group B despite the presence of both Porto and Atletico.

However, they were beaten 1-0 by Brugge in their first game last week, with Loubadhe Sylla’s goal shortly before half time proving to be the difference between the two sides.

Gerardo Seoane’s side have also made a poor start to their 2022-23 Bundesliga campaign, picking up just four points from six matches, which has left them down in 17th place in the table.

Meanwhile, Atletico head into the contest off the back of a 4-1 victory over Celta Vigo on Saturday, which moved them into fourth place in the La Liga standings on 10 points.

They have responded impressively to their 2-0 home defeat to Villarreal on August 21, having won three of their last four matches across all competitions, including a Champions League victory over Porto last week.

Simeone’s side, who have the small matter of a Madrid derby against Real Madrid next weekend, reached the quarter-finals of last season’s tournament, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City over the two legs.

Atletic have not been progressed past the final eight in the European Cup since reaching the semi-finals in 2016-17, and they will be expecting to top this group considering their quality in strength and European experirnce.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid head to head

These two teams have previously met on eight occasions across two competitions, where Leverkusen have claimed three victories while Atletico have won three, and they have drawn in three. Leverkusen have scored seven goals and conceded nine. In their last five meetings, Atletico have won three, Leverkusen one with one draw.

Atletico Madrid (P)1-0 Bayer Leverkusen 17/03/15

Bayer Leverkusen 2-4 Atletico Madrid 21/02/17

Atletico Madrid 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen 15/03/17

Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen 22/10/19

Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Atletico Madrid 06/11/19

Bayer Leverkusen latest home form

Bayer Leverkusen have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having lost each of their three most recent matches. They were beaten 3-2 by Freiburg in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and also conceded nine.

Bayer Leverkusen 6-1 MSV Duisburg 09/07/22

Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Panathinaikos 17/07/22

Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Augsburg 13/08/22

Bayer Leverkusen 0-3 Hoffenheim 20/08/22

Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Freiburg 03/09/22

Bayer Leverkusen latest away form

Bayer Laverkusen have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They drew 2-2 with Hertha Berlin in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded eight.

Elversberg 4-3 Bayer Leverkusen 30/07/22

Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen 06/08/22

Mainz 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen 27/08/22

Club Brugge 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen 07/09/22

Hertha Berlin 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen 10/09/22

Atletico Madrid latest home form

Atletico Madrid have recently been on a good run of form at home, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Celta Vigo 4-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded five.

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Sevilla 15/05/22

Atletico Madrid 1-0 Manchester United 30/07/22

Atletico Madrid 0-2 Villarreal 21/08/22

Atletico Madrid 2-1 Porto 07/09/22

Atletico Madrid 4-1 Celta Vigo 10/09/22

Atletico Madrid latest away form

Atletico Madrid have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their eight most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded just two.

Cadiz 1-4 Atletico Madrid 04/08/22

Juventus 0-4 Atletico Madrid 07/08/22

Getafe 0-3 Atletico Madrid 15/08/22

Valencia 0-1 Atletico Madrid 29/08/22

Real Sociedad 1-1 Atletico Madrid 03/09/22

Bayer Leverkusen news

Bayer Leverkusen will take to the pitch without Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli, Andrey Lunev and Karim Bellarabi, but Charles Aranguiz should come into the side to replace Exequiel Palacios.

Patrick Schick is set to lead the line for the hosts, while Chelsea loanee striker Callum Hudson-Odoi should start in a wide area.

Atletico Madrid news

Atletico will again be without Sergio Reguilon and Stefan Savic for this contest, while Jan Oblak and Jose Gimenez remain major doubts.

Marcos Llorente, Joao Felix and Koke should come back into the starting XI, while Rodrigo De Paul is set to retain his place in the midfield for Tuesday’s contest.