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Manchester United are set to face Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday in the Champions League.
This is the first time that the sides will meet in the Champions League. The last official clash was part of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, back in 1992.
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During this very encounter in 1990s, Atletico Madrid romped on to a 4-1 victory over Manchester United, knocking them out of the competition over two legs. However, the situation is a bit different this season. We could see Manchester United registering another famous victory over a new opponent unless Atletico Madrid can turn the tide.
Atletico Madrid and Manchester United's fairly disappointing run of form this season has suppressed key individual performances in the two camps. That said, Europe could witness a very enthralling tie in Madrid which could be lit up by some key one-on-one clashes.
Today, we take a look at five such key player battles that could decide the game in either side's favor:
#5 Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid) vs Jadon Sancho (Manchester United)
With four goal contributions in his last five appearances, Jadon Sancho has really found form after a sluggish start to life at Manchester United.
The 21-year-old is all set to take on prominent right-back Marcos Llorente on the wing. Llorente has been touted among Atletico Madrid's top three players this season. This is thanks to his overall proficiency in both defending and attacking from wider areas.
The key point where this battle could be decided is the duels that will be contested by Sancho and Llorente on the night. The Manchester United winger is one of the best dribblers in world football at the moment.
But he will come up against Atletico Madrid's impenetrable right-back. Llorente wins 69% of his ground duels contested in the Champions League.
There is another side to this story. Sancho might just become a potential disrupter of Atletico Madrid's passage of play from the right flank. The former Dortmund starlet has won possession on 40% of his tackles in the group stages. This could potentially hurt the Spanish side, who have a huge attacking outlet on the right through Llorente.
#4 Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid) vs Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
A huge part of the footballing community remembers Luis Suarez from his frantic Liverpool days. Gone are the days when the Uruguayan terrorized Premier League defenses week-in and week-out. The Atletico Madrid striker has aged but that doesn't necessarily take his goal-scoring abilities away from him, even a bit.
On Wednesday, he will face England's number one centre-back and Manchester United captain, Harry Maguire.
What adds a flare to this storyline is the fact that Suarez hit a stunner from long range for their 3-0 win over Osasuna at the weekend. Maguire too silenced his critics with a fantastic performance against Leeds United as he scored a goal as well.
An in-form Suarez up against prime Maguire is what Champions League nights are all about.
According to Sofascore, Maguire is yet to be dribbled past in the Champions League this season. This is despite keeping just one clean sheet in six game-weeks.
Meanwhile, Suarez also seems to be in need of a few goals as the 35-year-old has netted just once in six group-stage games. If the Atletico Madrid striker scores a goal or two on Wednesday, this battle could potentially be the decider.
#3 Geoffrey Kondogbia (Atletico Madrid) vs Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Geoffrey Kondogbia is one of the best defensive midfielders in the Atletico Madrid camp right now. He is all set to battle it out with Frenchman Paul Pogba in the heart of the midfield this week.
The 29-year-old has played for both France and Central African Republic. He will possibly have the task of managing the creativity of his French counterpart on the night. Pogba has been a prominent creative outlet for Manchester United this season.
Kondogbia is a brilliant progressor of the ball through quick passes and is a compulsive non-dribbler. He rarely loses possession or misplaced a pass in his own half.
Meanwhile, Pogba is one of the greatest box-to-box midfielders. Hence, the battle for possession in the middle third could be really exciting between the African and the World Cup-winning Frenchman.
Pogba wins just 45% of his duels compared to Kondogbia's figure of 56%. This gives the Atletico Madrid man a slight edge in the contest.
Pogba has a very high passing success rate of 79% in the opposition half in the Champions League this season. He also makes one key pass at an average per game. This makes him Kondogbia's biggest target to nullify at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday.
#2 Reinildo (Atletico Madrid) vs Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)
Over the past few months, one of the players who has impressed in the Manchester United shirt the most has been Diogo Dalot. The Portuguese has successfully managed to bench Aaron Wan-Bissaka from the starting XI.
He has put in consistent performances for Ralf Ragnick's team off-late. On Wednesday, though, he comes face-to-face with a player who could be called his shadow, Reinildo Mandava.
Since his arrival from Lille, Reinildo has been the best player in Atletico Madrid's back-line besides Stefan Savic. The Mozambique international has been a revelation for Simeone on the left flank, especially with his hard-hitting tackles. The 28-year-old has averaged 4.3 tackles per game in the Champions League this season. This is one of the highest numbers when it comes to all the left-backs in the competition.
Compare that to Dalot, and we get to see why this could be a decider. The 22-year-old has played just two games in Europe this season, but has averaged 4.5 tackles on average in those 180 minutes. Atletico Madrid usually play a defensive game. Hence, we could see Dalot versus Reinildo in the Atletico half for a majority of 90 minutes on Wednesday.
#1 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) vs Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Madrid for the first time since he ousted Diego Simeone's side in Juventus colors back in 2019. The Argentine coach has gone on record to opine that he would have won three Champions League titles if not for Ronaldo. He has a brilliant record against Atletico, making 34 goal contributions in 35 matches, including four hat-tricks.
Simeone will be hoping his defense keeps the 37-year-old quiet in front of goal on Wednesday.
Ronaldo against any other player would always be a battle to relish from a viewers' point of view. But the legend coming up against one of the modern era's greatest goal-keepers, Jan Oblak, makes the event even mouth-watering.
Oblak has been criticized for being one of the poor performers for Atletico this season. The Slovenian stopper has conceded 35 goals in 25 La Liga appearances already. This remains the Rojiblancos' worst defensive record in the past decade.
Oblak will be tasked with not only saving Ronaldo's attempts on goal but also with instructing his centre-backs with the right positioning on the field. Ronaldo has kept his Champions League goal-scoring record intact with six goals in five appearances this season. That gives him a 30% shot conversion ratio in Europe, which is a very good number to possess.
United travel to Spain for the first leg on Wednesday, with the second leg set to be played at Old Trafford in mid-March.
