Arya News - In-form Atletico host struggling Man United as the Champions League returns for the second set of games.
Who : Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
What : UEFA Champions League , matchday 2
Where : Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
When : Tuesday, October 13, at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow : Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 16:00 GMT.
Action in Europe’s premier club competition returns with a matchday two clash between in-form La Liga side Atletico Madrid and Premier League strugglers Manchester United.
There are contrasting moods in the camps ahead of Tuesday’s fixture in the Spanish capital.
Atletico are challenging Barcelona for the top spot in Spain’s top flight, while Man United are in the bottom half of England’s Premier League, several places below all their traditional rivals.
Left winger Alex Baena and striker Jonathan David have been running the show for Atletico, while playmaker Bruno Fernandes and marksman Bryan Mbeumo are trying to keep United’s hopes alive of turning things around.
Atletico and Man United are set to clash for only the fifth time in history and the third in the Champions League.
Here’s all you need to know about the match:
How have Atletico Madrid played this season?
Atletico have made a promising start to the 2026-27 La Liga season, as they sit in second place, five points adrift of leaders and title holders, Barcelona.
Of the eight league games they have played, Atletico have won six, drawn one and lost one.
One of those results included a feisty 2-1 derby win over giants Real Madrid.
How have Manchester United played this season?
United are experiencing one of their worst starts to a league campaign.
They are 12th in the Premier League standings with six points, having won only one of six matches (D3 L2).
Those defeats also include a controversial 1-0 loss to their bitter rivals, Manchester City.
What happened in the first round of Champions League matches?
Atletico suffered a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in their first UCL match of the season, while Man United thrashed Azerbaijani club Sabah 4-0 in their campaign opener.
That keeps Atletico 25th and Man United fourth in the league phase of this year’s Champions League.
The top eight teams at the end of the league phase qualify directly to the knockout rounds.
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United: Predictions
Opta’s supercomputer has given Atletico a 48.5 percent probability of victory, while Man United have a 27.2 percent chance and a draw is estimated at a likelihood of 24.3 percent.
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United: Head-to-head
Matches: 4 Atletico wins: 2 Man United wins: 0 Draws: 2 Encounters:
March 15, 2022: Manchester United 0-1 Atletico Madrid (Champions League) February 23, 2022: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United (Champions League) November 06, 1991: Manchester United 1-1 Atletico Madrid (UEFA European Cup Winners Cup) October 23, 1991: Atletico Madrid 3-0 Manchester United (UEFA European Cup Winners Cup) Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United: Form guide
(Last five matches across all competitions, latest match first)
Atletico Madrid: W-W-W-W-L
Manchester United: D-D-L-L-W
Alex Baena celebrates scoring for Atletico [File: Fran Santiago/Getty Images] Who are the top players to watch?
Alex Baena and Jonathan David (Atletico) : Baena is in good form for club and country, with four goals and two assists for Atletico this season. Further up the pitch, centre-forward David has three goals and two assists.
Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo (Man United): Midfielder Fernandes, the United captain, has been the team’s top scorer with four goals in all competitions, while the playmaker also has an assist. Forward Mbeumo, meanwhile, has three goals and an assist.
What have the coaches said?
Diego Simeone (Atletico):
On Julian Alvarez failing to find the net so far this season: “I think strikers with Julian’s characteristics always need goals, not just him. It’s true that beyond his finishing, he’s a team player, a player that can link very well, he can assist and he’s got many more tools than just goalscoring.”
On facing Man United: “The game will be long, it will be tough and we have to manage our efforts to compete well.”
Michael Carrick (Man United):
On United’s poor form: “We’ve got to stay positive and keep doing the right things. We need to do better and we need more points, of course we do.”
On facing Atletico: “We’ve got big games coming up and are looking forward to Tuesday now. A fresh start, a fresh game and we will go there looking forward to the game.”
Did you know?
Atleti are unbeaten in the four meetings between the sides (W2 D2). Their most recent encounters came in the 2021-22 Champions League round of 16, where they drew 1-1 in Madrid before winning 1-0 in Manchester. Atleti also dethroned United as European Cup Winners’ Cup holders in 1991-92, winning the second-round tie 4-1 on aggregate (3-0 home, 1-1 away). United have lost only one of their last 11 matches against Spanish opponents (W7 D3). They beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 away and 4-1 at home in the last fixtures in the 2024-25 Europa League semifinals to make it three successive victories. United’s last 10 matches against Spanish opponents have produced 35 goals, an average of 3.5 per game.
United manager Michael Carrick is under pressure after a poor start this season [File: Carl Recine/Getty Images] Team news and predicted lineups
Atletico Madrid
Atletico have a fully fit squad.
Predicted starting XI:
Jan Oblak; Marc Pubill, Cristian Romero, David Hancko; Marcos Llorente, Pablo Barrios, Koke, Giuliano Simeone; Kang-in Lee, Alex Baena; Julian Alvarez
Manchester United
As many as five United players are out with injuries. Those include Patrick Dorgu (hamstring), Benjamin Sesko (shin), Tom Heaton (abdomen), Manuel Ugarte (knee) and Matthijs de Ligt (back).
Predicted starting XI :
Senne Lammens; Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot; Youri Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo; Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha; Marcus Rashford