It’s a battle between two of Europe’s best counter-attacking teams in this UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg as the visitors look to carry on with their fairy-tale story and reach the semi-final in their first ever Champions League campaign. However, a tough European side stand in their way and there aren’t many better teams than Atletico when they play at the Vicente Calderon and the underdog visitors will struggle to break them down.

STATS

• Atletico have only lost once in this season’s Champions League and that one loss came at the Allianz Arena to the German champions, Bayern Munich. They cruised past Bayer Leverkusen in their last fixture as they held out to a 0-0 draw after a comfortable 4-2 win in the first leg.
• Leicester City have only lost 2 games in the competition themselves with a 5-0 battering from Porto and a 2-1 loss away in Seville. They overcame that 2-1 deficit in the second leg as they beat the Europa League holders 2-0 with goals from Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton.
• There’s no surprise to hear that Antoine Griezmann has been Atletico’s top scorer in the Champions League this season with 4 goals, a decent return for a player in a team that don’t score too many goals.
• Riyad Mahrez’ group stage wizardry means he is Leicester’s top goal scorer also with 4 goals. The Algerian was brilliant in the groups and was one of the main reasons as to why the Foxes could continue their unbelievable story in the knockout stages.

HEAD TO HEAD

When the two sides met in the UEFA Cup in 1997, Atletico won both legs: winning 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon and 2-0 at Filbert Street. However, when the Foxes last came up against Spanish opposition just 2 months ago, they managed a 3-2 aggregate win over Sevilla.

ATLETICO MADRID NEWS

Atletico will definitely be confident of taking a healthy lead into the second-leg at King Power Stadium but they will need to be strong defensively as Leicester are known for striking on the break at the most unexpected times. They have been incredibly strong at the back with Jan Oblak in goal and they will hope to continue this against the Foxes. The only notable absence for the hosts is Kevin Gameiro who has been in decent form this season in front of goal.

Latest matches: Atletico Madrid

08.04.2017	LaLi	Real Madrid	Atletico Madrid	1:1	D
04.04.2017	LaLi	Atletico Madrid	Real Sociedad	1:0	W
01.04.2017	LaLi	Malaga CF	Atletico Madrid	0:2	W
19.03.2017	LaLi	Atletico Madrid	Sevilla FC	3:1	W
15.03.2017	UEFA	Atletico Madrid	Bayer Leverkusen	0:0	D

LEICESTER CITY NEWS

Leicester will need to make sure they are still in the tie after the first leg just like what they did in Seville as they managed to sneak an away goal in the 2-1 loss. They’ll need to be really solid at the back and without captain Wes Morgan, they might struggle to stay as resolute as they usually do. Nampalys Mendy also misses the game but he’s yet to have made his mark on the side.

Latest matches: Leicester City

09.04.2017	Prem	Everton FC	Leicester City	4:2	L
04.04.2017	Prem	Leicester City	Sunderland AFC	2:0	W
01.04.2017	Prem	Leicester City	Stoke City	2:0	W
18.03.2017	Prem	West Ham United	Leicester City	2:3	W
14.03.2017	UEFA	Leicester City	Sevilla FC	2:0	W

SUMMING UP!

Atletico are definitely the favourites heading into the match on their own soil but Leicester love to play the role of the underdogs and will thrive in the Vicente Calderon with a decent away following expected from the Foxes fans. They won’t lie down easily but Atletico might have too much class for the Premier League champions. The main aim for the visitors is to make sure the tie is still winnable in the second leg but Diego Simeone will want his team to end the Foxes’ hopes. It shouldn’t be a high-scoring game with two counter-attacking teams who play better with a lower percentage of possession.