Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Diego Costa may well have completed his move to former club Atletico Madrid but he will have to sit on the sidelines until January due to their transfer ban. Obviously this means he will play no part for either club as Chelsea make the trip to the Spanish capital this evening.
Tonight will be the first European fixture to be played in Atletico’s new home the Wanda Metropolitano and Diego Simeone will love nothing more than to christen the new stadium with a win here this evening especially as it could have a huge bearing on who not only tops the group but also who makes the knockout phase.
Atletico had to make do with a bore draw in Rome as they were held at the Stadio Olimpico and they are already two points behind a Chelsea side that made incredibly light work of Qarabag on Matchday 1 as they ran out 6-0 winners at Stamford Bridge.
Qarabag will be easily cast adrift of this group and it will be a race for the two qualification slots between these sides in action tonight and Roma who make the trip to Azerbaijan. You would have to assume that they will pick up a win later on which will only add extra importance to this encounter.
Atletico Madrid currently find themselves second in La Liga, four points behind Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona. After the first half dozen fixtures Diego Simeone’s men have won four and drawn two and are doing their very best to stay on the Catalan’s coat tails.
Yann Carrasco and Angel Correa are the top scorers for Atletico Madrid in La Liga with three goals a piece and at the weekend they picked up a well earned win against Sevilla. It was a 2-0 win in front of their own fans with goals coming from Belgian international Carrasco and also Antoine Griezmann.
Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata will make a return to Madrid but this time around he will be going up against Real’s cross town rivals. He arrives in his homeland in scintillating form with six goals from six Premier League matches and fresh off a hat-trick away at Stoke on Saturday.
Morata made a huge contribution to Chelsea’s 4-0 win at the Bet365 Stadium and that win sees them solidify third place in the table. The complexion of the Premier League is already looking like the way it could finish up come the end of the season.
The only reason why Chelsea may not be able to mount a proper defence of their title is due to the fact that they will be battling on two fronts this time around and questions will be asked as to whether they can compete both home and abroad.
Questions will certainly be asked tonight as Chelsea will go up against an in form Atletico Madrid but in fairness there is little to split the two sides. If Antonio Conte’s men can come away with a share of the points then you get the feeling it is a result that they will take. I have a feeling this one ends up in a low scoring draw.
Here is what social media thinks will happen – you can still vote on the outcome
Time for some more #ChampionsLeague scientific polls now
Who will come out on top between #Atletico and #Chelsea
— Dan Tracey (@dantracey1983) September 27, 2017
