Manchester CityChampions LeagueAtletico Madrid

The more curious quarter-final clash of the Champions League today pits Manchester City and Atletico Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. The hosts are again among the main favorites to congratulate themselves with the first trophy of the race, while the guests can not be written off, but are behind in terms of opportunities to win the "Ears".

I look at the odds and notice that bookmakers are confident in home success today, and even a convincing one. Historically, these two teams have not played each other, but given the style of Diego Simeone and the good performances of Atletico recently, it is very likely that the clash will be far more equal. The eventual continuation of the Spaniards to the semifinals would hardly be such a big surprise.

Manchester City continues to fight on all fronts. On Saturday, the Citizens beat Burnley 2-0 away and kept a point ahead of Liverpool. Very rarely has the team failed to win, as has happened three times in the last eight games. Two of them were in the Premier League with a loss to Tottenham and a draw with Crystal Palace. The third case was in a draw with Sporting in the round of 16 in the tournament of the rich, but all was decided in Portugal with a clear 5: 0.

In the previous phase of the tournament, Atletico faced the other grandmaster from Manchester. The Mattresses played a great first match at Wanda Metropolitano, but the match ended 1: 1. After this match, the shock series of six consecutive victories for the Madrid club began. The five were in La Liga, and Alaves was questioned 4: 1 at home on Saturday. The rematch with Manchester United was won with a minimum of 1: 0.

Manchester City will surely start this match on the way to a good lead before the rematch. This season Atletico is not a very good guest, but recently has significantly improved its results and kept three dry nets in four wins in the last four visits. The fact is that today the opponent is far more serious, but I think the guests will have some success in defense at least until the middle of the first half.