Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Leicester will once again look to overturn the deficit against a Spanish side this Evening as they play host to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg. Craig Shakespeare’s side came away with a creditable 1-0 defeat in last week’s opener but will have to do better tonight if they wish to progress further.
In the previous round they managed to overturn Sevilla’s 1st leg advantage thanks to a 2-1 win at The King Power. That eventually saw The Foxes go through 3-2 on aggregate but while they need goals themselves they will need to make sure that they do not allow Atletico to score an all important away goal at the other end.
Saturday saw them throw away a 2-0 lead away at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace managed to earn a vital point in their bid to beat the drop. That would have no doubt disappointed Craig Shakespeare as it is not ideal preparations going into this game.
After such a great start to his Leicester managerial career, Shakespeare is just going through somewhat of a rut now with his team failing to win any of their last three games across all competitions. Although Premier League survival has nearly been earned they are not quite over the line just yet.
But in all fairness it does not really matter where Leicester finish in the Premier League – as long as it’s not 18th then the real focus is on just how long can they continue their expedition into Europe. Will that come to an end Tonight though as Diego Simeone brings his Atletico Madrid side to the East Midlands.
They come here with the perfect preparations thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over Osasuna and in solid form also with just 1 defeat in their last 10 league matches. While also winning 6 from their last 7, the only blemish being a draw in the Madrid derby.
Atletico may not be at the most fearsome compared to that of the last few seasons but they are still an incredibly dangerous team as they proved in the first leg last week. Their was perhaps an element of good fortune in regards to their winning goal but it’s fair to say that it was the right outcome.
The big question though is whether or not Leicester can keep a clean sheet though as failure to do so will mean they have to score at least three goals if they are to reach the Semi final stage. A big task against anyone let alone Diego Simeone’s men.
Should Atletico have Kevin Gamiero among their ranks then they have the ideal man to snatch an away goal and all but kill off the tie, I think the first goal tonight is going to be crucial if it can go Leicester’s way then who knows what will happen.
But that said I just cannot see them keeping a clean sheet especially with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Koke and Saul Niguez ready to be unleashed this evening. I can see this ending up as a respectable draw but ultimately Atletico will get a necessary goal to kill off any Leicester hopes. Atletico to move to the Semi Finals in my opinion.
