Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United Prediction and Betting Tips | 23 February 2022
Atletico Madrid will host Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid have been uncharacteristically inconsistent this season. They have the joint-eighth-worst defensive record in La Liga, which is quite a departure from how the Rojiblancos have regularly fared under Diego Simeone. They have lost seven of their last 14 matches across all competitions.
Simeone's men conceded a shock defeat to Levante last week but beat Osasuna 3-0 over the weekend. Although the scoreline suggests a resounding win, Atletico Madrid were on the backfoot for most of the game. Osasuna enjoyed 63% of the possession and had as many as 14 shots as opposed to Atletico Madrid's five.
Atletico Madrid have just about scraped through to the knockout stages of the Champions League. They lost three of their six group stage matches but eventually salvaged their campaign by beating Porto 3-1 in their final group stage outing.
Atletico Madrid have plenty of quality in their side and will fancy their chances against Manchester United on Wednesday. The Red Devils beat rivals Leeds United 4-2 at Elland Road on Sunday.
Ralf Rangnick's men have not done well at putting away their chances of late. They have been able to create plenty of opportunities in their recent outings but their poor finishing has let them down regularly. But Manchester United have shown encouraging signs in their latest performances against Brighton and Leeds.
Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho are in great form right now. The trio have combined to great effect and Rangnick will be hoping that they are on top of their games when they take on Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The last time Atletico Madrid and Manchester United met was in the 1991-92 Cup Winners' Cup. Atletico Madrid won the tie 4-1 on aggregate.
- Manchester United have only visited Atletico Madrid once and that was in the first leg of the 1991-92 Cup Winners' Cup tie and lost the game 3-0.
- Atletico Madrid have lost all of their last four UEFA Champions League games against English opponents. That is twice the number of defeats they had conceded in their first 12 games against English sides.
- Manchester United have just one win in their last seven trips to Spain. They defeated Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 in April 2002.
- Manchester United have scored 499 goals in European Cup/UEFA Champions League. They scored 100 goals in the European Cup and 399 in the Champions League. They are set to become only the fourth team to score 500 goals in the competition after Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United Prediction
Atletico Madrid have been extremely inconsistent this season. The same applies to Manchester United. But the Red Devils have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks while Atletico Madrid have lost four of their last seven matches across all competitions.
This could be a tightly contested affair between the two sides as the result could mean a lot to either team. We expect Atletico Madrid to sit back and hit Manchester United on the counter here. We're familiar with United's defensive frailties and there should be goals in this one.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Game to have over 1.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes