Atletico Madrid host Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-finals, with both teams still in pursuit of a maiden trophy in Europe’s top tier.
Tuesday night saw PSG edge out Bayern Munich in a thrilling 5-4 first-leg tie showcasing the best of both sides – although tonight’s affair is likely to be a rather different type of football altogether.
Diego Simeone’s side saw off Barcelona in an enthralling 3-2 quarter-final tie on aggregate, while Mikel Arteta’s men did just enough in a rather more pedestrian 1-0 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon.
Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners in the two sides’ league phase encounter earlier this season but both sides have transformed since then. The Gunners appear depleted and low on confidence after being pegged back in the Premier League title race, while Atletico ran out 3-2 winners in La Liga in their last game and have looked a different beast in the knockout stages.
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Good omen?
This is the 16th European Cup semi-final tie between clubs from England and Spain and the former have won nine of the previous ties.
Atletico’s attack
Atletico may have kept things tight for an hour at the Emirates back in autumn but they produced they had just one shot on target and produced an xG of just 0.32 xG from open play – in both cases their lowest totals in Europe this season.
Odegaard’s view
The Arsenal captain, speaking in his pre-match press conference, was open when discussing the weight of pressure his squad may be feeling as they strive to win a trophy.
“That is always going to be there until we win (a trophy) and we have to live with that and we have to draw on those past experiences and use it in a good way,” he said.
“We are in a great position to make history and that is what we want to do. We want to take that last step and do something big and that is the biggest goal, the biggest dream and that’s what we’re working towards every single day.
“I don’t understand how you can’t enjoy it. We are ready for it.”
Man in the middle
A familiar name will be overseeing proceedings tonight – Danny Makkelie, the Dutch police inspector.
His assistants are Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Vries with Dennis Higler in charge of the VAR booth, assisted by Pol van Boekel.
They may all be expecting a busy evening at work.
They’ve done this before
The teams also met eight years ago in a Europa League semi-final with the first leg in north London ending 1-1 – Alexandre Lacazette’s opener cancelled out by Antoine Griezmann – before Atletico edged the second meeting 1-0 at home thanks to Diego Costa, who was assisted by Griezmann.
Not a single member of that Arsenal team remains at the club but Atletico’s squad still contains Griezmann, Jose Gimenez, Koke and goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Previous meeting
It was only October when the teams most recently met – Atletico departing the Emirates with a 4-0 defeat because of a brace from Viktor Gyokeres and a goal apiece from Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli.
But it is worth remember that match was scoreless until almost an hour in.
Simeone in profile
Football’s most prestigious trophies are not lifetime achievement awards. If they were, Mikel Arteta and Diego Simeone may see a glint of silverware in spring. Arteta’s three consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League and back-to-back semi-finals in the Champions League can lend themselves to the idea he deserves to win a major prize. But so does the man in the opposite dugout at the Metropolitano.
Arteta’s challenge to stars
Mikel Arteta has told his Arsenal players to go behind enemy lines and deliver a statement victory tonight.
Speaking on the eve of his side’s pivotal match in the Spanish capital, which is forecast to be affected by a heavy storm, Arteta said: “This is the stage that we want to be and we have earned it through incredible work, passion and quality in the last nine months.
“Now is the moment to make a statement and show how good we are, how much we want it and make it happen. The opportunity is in front of us and we have to attack it.
“We have prepared the game to win it. There’s no question about that. We know the difficulty of the match, but I think we have shown in Europe, in any ground, what we are capable of.
“We’ve been very consistent and tomorrow we have to play with that confidence, with that desire and that will. We have to come here to win the game.”
Arsenal abuzz again
To see the Arsenal squad at training this week, you wouldn’t necessarily think they were about to play for just a second Champions League final in their history. So many people at the club say they’ve just been more relaxed, and that’s actually been the case for every European game this season.
And yet here they are, the squad newly abuzz.
Early Atletico team news
The big question is whether Ademola Lookman can feature having sat out the weekend La Liga win against Athletic Club owing to a muscle issue. Julian Alvarez is expected to be involved having shaken off a thigh issue.
Defenders Jose Gimenez and David Hancko could return too following injuries but Pablo Barrios will not be in the engine room owing to a hamstring strain.
