Aletico madrid vs chelsea preview, betting tips
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Chelsea has a big advantage over Atletico Madrid on upcoming Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea match

Chelsea are preparing to face La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid in Romania on Wednesday in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg, and they might have an advantage over their Spanish counterparts

Chelsea could have one big advantage over Atletico Madrid for Wednesday's Champions League Round of 16 first-leg clashes.

Atletico may already feel hard done after their home fixture was moved to Bucharest, Romania, due to the Spanish government extending its ban over UK arrivals due to coronavirus.

But the La Liga leaders also face the disadvantage of having to play just days before heading to Romania for that all-important clash with Chelsea.

That's because Diego Simeone's men took on Levante away from home on Wednesday as part of a doubleheader with the Valencia-based club who are enjoying a rather impressive season themselves.

The Blues face Southampton on Saturday, but they had no mid-week games this week have fully caught up on their Premier League schedule.

That could be a source of frustration for Atletico Madrid, particularly with players returning from injury. Key defender Jose Maria Gimenez was recently ruled out for three weeks but returned after just one game, shows football London.

Chelsea topped Group E to book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The Blues were unbeaten under Frank Lampard, winning all of their away matches. They were held at Stamford Bridge by both Sevilla and Krasnodar, but did enough to finish above the Europa League champions by a single point.

Their opponents in the next round, Atletico Madrid, were less dominant in the group stage but are still favourites to progress to the last eight.

Atleti finished runners-up in Group A behind Bayern Munich, losing 4-0 at the Allianz Arena before drawing the return fixture 1-1. A pair of wins against RB Salzburg and two draws with Lokomotiv Moscow were enough to see the Liga side through, cites squawka.

ATLETICO MADRID V CHELSEA STATS & ANALYSIS

Aletico madrid vs chelsea preview, betting tips
Photo: Latin Times

History suggests that this will be an even match. These two sides have met seven times in European competitions and have an identical record. They’ve each won two, lost two, and drawn three. The similarities don’t end there. Atletico and Chelsea have each scored and conceded 11 goals in those seven games proving that this is a tough one to call.

Atletico Madrid didn’t have the best time in the group stage. Diego Simeone’s men had the second-lowest points total of the 16 teams that qualified for the knockout rounds. Of those 16 teams, they were the only one with a negative goal difference. The damage of that 4-0 defeat to Bayern Munich wasn’t made up in the remainder of their matches. It’s part of an ongoing trend for Atletico. Simeone’s put three past Red Bull Salzburg in the group stage this season. that was the first time they scored three goals in 90 minutes of a Champions League match since October 2018.

Their biggest strength is their defensive ability. The same could be said of Chelsea when looking at their group stage record. The Blues were hugely efficient at the back and conceded just two goals in their six games. Only Manchester City conceded fewer times than Chelsea who kept four clean sheets. They’ve shown that defensive solidity under Thomas Tuchel in recent weeks with five clean sheets in his first six matches in charge.

ATLETICO MADRID V CHELSEA BETS

It’s a game on a knife’s edge but Atletico Madrid are the slight favourites. That’s perhaps unsurprising given their recent form in La Liga but Simeone’s men are 9/5 to secure the win in 90 minutes here. A draw is 11/5 and Chelsea are just 2/1 to continue their recent run of form. The Blues have won a string of matches without conceding lately. Tuchel’s men are 7/2 to win to nil with Atletico at 3/1 to do the same.

We may not see too many goals here. Chelsea and Atletico both kept it tight in the group stages and there’s no reason why that will change. The Blues had an average of just 2.67 total match goals in their group stage fixtures and Atletico’s figure was even lower at 2.50. Under 2.5 total match goals is just 5/8 with under 1.5 at 15/8, shows bettingexpert.

One slight disparity between the two sides is their respective first-half records. Chelsea shone before the interval in their six group stage matches. They led at the break in four of them and conceded just one goal. Atletico were slower starters and were in front just twice. It’s 3/1 for Chelsea to win the first half or 4/1 for the Blues to lead 1-0 at the break.

This match sees Chelsea come up against a familiar face. Luis Suarez has been Atletico’s talisman this season and has a decent record against the Blues. He’s 6/4 to score anytime against the side he has faced nine times before. Timo Werner has found some form for the Blues and is way out at 13/2 to score the first goal of the match.

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