Atletico Madrid – Arsenal

Atlético will not lose in the first leg of the semi-final.

Undoubtedly, every competent football fan in the world even before the season began expected that one of the Champions League semi-finals would be played in the capital of Spain. The hosts of this match were seen as Real Madrid, the most titled representative of European football. However, the royal club exited the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage, while its fellow Madrilenians Atlético Madrid reached the semi-finals. Diego Simeone's side also became the creator of the only sensation of the quarterfinals, as they beat the formidable Barcelona on aggregate over two legs. Overall, the Colchoneros' campaign in the Champions League wasn't entirely successful. In the group stage Atlético finished only fourteenth, after which they knocked out relatively modest Club Brugge and Tottenham in the knockout rounds. The triumph in the duel with Barcelona was the result of a strategic victory by Simeone over his Catalan counterpart. Arsenal, from the early rounds of the group stage of the Champions League, were considered the bookmakers' favorites of the tournament. In the group stage the Gunners fully met expectations, winning eight out of eight matches. However, subsequently Arsenal's lead faded. In the knockout rounds, Arteta's charges did not pass Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting CP in a domineering style, who are now far from the top even in their leagues. Bookmakers did not determine clear favorites for the upcoming meeting, offering a slight tilt in the odds in favor of the visitors. If you study Atlético Madrid's results over the last six weeks, it begins to seem as if we are talking about a hypothetical Getafe or Elche. In nine official matches the Colchoneros lost seven times and won only twice, they lost the final of the Copa del Rey and fell behind Villarreal in the race for third place in La Liga. However, the most important match of that period they won at the Camp Nou, which made them semi-finalists of the Champions League. And Arsenal's results recently leave an even more depressing impression. Exits from both national cups, losing the outright first place in the Premier League amid unimpressive play have somewhat knocked down Mikel Arteta and his players. There is no doubt that in London Arsenal will be the clear favorite, but the guests will not be able to start the tie with a win in Madrid.