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Atletico Madrid will host Manchester United at the Wanda Metropolitano in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie on Wednesday night.
Atletico Madrid have a raft of injury concerns as they head into battle with Manchester United in the quest for a Champions League quarter-final berth. Diego Simeone's men are currently navigating one of their worst seasons in recent times.
Atletico Madrid and Manchester United have had similar seasons
The reigning La Liga champions are presently fifth in the league table and some of their key performers have let them down massively this season. Jan Oblak is chief among the underperforming players and Atletico Madrid have been uncharacteristically vulnerable in defence.
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Meanwhile, Manchester United seem to have just about wriggled out of their worst phase of the season. The Red Devils are slowly steadying their ship under Ralf Rangnick but are still a long way away from winning games in a comfortable manner.
With so many superstars taking to the pitch as the two sides collide on Wednesday, the outcome could very well hinge on some individual battles. Without further ado, let's take a look at five key battles that could affect the result of tomorrow's Round of 16 game between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United.
#5 Marcus Rashford vs Reinildo
Atletico Madrid signed Mozambican defender Reinildo from Lille on transfer deadline day. He has since made four appearances for the Rojiblancos, with his most impressive performance coming in their 3-0 win over Osasuna this past weekend.
With Yannick Carrasco suspended and Thomas Lemar unlikely to feature, the 28-year-old is expected to play as the left wing-back on Wednesday.
Reinildo is a technically gifted footballer and this could be a real test for him as he will need to stop Marcus Rashford from making inroads into the area. Rashford has been nowhere near his best this season and was dropped from the lineup against Leeds United.
But he is likely to get the nod ahead of Anthony Elanga due to his experience in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Neither player is well settled at the moment and this could be a telling contest between the two.
#4 Angel Correa vs Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire will walk onto the Wanda Metropolitano turf on the back of two impressive performances. The Manchester United captain has received plenty of stick this season, but he was formidable at the back against Brighton & Hove Albion and Leeds United.
Maguire scored United's first set-piece goal of the season at the weekend against Leeds, nodding home a Luke Shaw corner. The Englishman has, time and again, struggled against pacy attackers. He tends to get dragged out of position a lot, overcommits and leaves a lot of space behind him for attackers to run into.
Angel Correa has been one of Atletico Madrid's in-form players this term, scoring 12 goals and providing five assists in 34 appearances across all competitions. Maguire will do exceptionally well to keep Correa at bay tomorrow.
#3 Jadon Sancho vs Sime Vrsaljko
Sime Vrsaljko was arguably Atletico Madrid's best player in their 3-0 win over Osasuna. Prior to that, he was pretty lackluster and was used sparingly. He has made just five starts for Diego Simeone's men across La Liga and the Champions League this season.
He will be up against an in-form Jadon Sancho. The 21-year-old has finally hit his stride at Manchester United and has been one of their best players since the turn of the year. Sancho has looked confident on the ball, taking defenders on and beating them and making some mature decisions after foraying into the final third.
He picked up two assists in Manchester United's 4-2 win over Leeds United last weekend. Sancho will cause problems down the left flank and Vrsaljko will need to be at the top of his game if he is to stop the youngster from wreaking havoc.
The former Borussia Dortmund winger could be United's main creative force in the final third.
#2 Bruno Fernandes vs Hector Herrera
With Koke likely to be absent after missing training on Monday due to injury, Atletico Madrid are likely to deploy Hector Herrera in defensive midfield. Herrera did a good job against Osasuna but Manchester United are going to be a very different proposition altogether.
Herrera will be tasked with keeping Bruno Fernandes silent. Fernandes has been in stellar form of late and has been a force to be reckoned with in attacking midfield. He is a risk taker who is always looking to play that defence-splitting killer pass and he does succeed quite often.
Fernandes has scored four goals and provided four assists in his last eight appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils. He is one of the best attacking midfielders in the game right now and could cause plenty of problems for Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo vs Jose Maria Gimenez
Jose Maria Gimenez only recently recovered from a bout with Covid-19 and made his return in Atletico Madrid's 1-0 loss to Levante last week. He was forced off at half-time with a knock in the game against Osasuna. Simeone will hope that the Uruguayan international will be able to recover for the game against the Red Devils.
Gimenez will need to keep an eye on Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been starved for goals of late. The Portuguese international has scored just one goal in his last eight appearances for Manchester United. But he has relished playing against Atletico Madrid over the course of his illustrious career.
In 35 appearances against the Rojiblancos, Ronaldo has scored 25 goals and provided nine assists. He will be smacking his lips at the prospect of taking his old foes to the cleaners and Gimenez will do well to keep the former Real Madrid man quiet on Wednesday.
