The UEFA Champions League knockout stage is in full swing again as six of the eight last 16 ties have been played. One of the two left sees two European giants battle it out as Atletico Madrid hosts Juventus on Wednesday night.

STATS

• Atletico will be disappointed they have failed to capitalise on Barcelona and Real Madrid’s inconsistent form in La Liga but they are still only seven points from top spot. They managed to get 13 points in their group but were beaten to 1^st place by Dortmund purely on goal difference.
• Juventus are once again running away with Serie A as they have already opened up a 13-point lead ahead of the chasing pack. They recorded fewer points in the group stage than their upcoming opponents but still came top of the group ahead of Manchester United.
• Antoine Griezmann was Atletico’s main man in those six matches and with four goals, he scored more than any of his team-mates.
• It’s surprising that Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t near the top of the Champions League scoring charts and he doesn’t even lead the way for Juventus as Paulo Dybala netted the most for them with five goals in Europe.

HEAD TO HEAD

The two sides last met in the group stages of the 2014/15 competition and despite Juventus not beating Atletico in the two matches, it was the Italian champions who made it further as they were beaten in the final by Barcelona. There was just one goal in the two fixtures and it went the way of the Spanish side as Arda Turan got the winner at the Vicente Calderon.

ATLETICO NEWS

It’s important for Atleti to use their home advantage to gain an edge ahead of the second leg and they will hopefully have the benefit of Diego Costa in the side as he has returned from injury. The game seems too soon for Lucas Hernandez who is still nursing a knock.

Latest matches: Atletico Madrid

16.02.2019	LaLi	Rayo Vallecano	Atletico Madrid	0:1	W
09.02.2019	LaLi	Atletico Madrid	Real Madrid	1:3	L
03.02.2019	LaLi	Betis Sevilla	Atletico Madrid	1:0	L
26.01.2019	LaLi	Atletico Madrid	Getafe CF	2:0	W
19.01.2019	LaLi	SD Huesca	Atletico Madrid	0:3	W

JUVENTUS NEWS

Avoiding defeat will be seen as a success for the away side as they will be reliant on a home win when they return to Turin in a few weeks. Juan Cuadrado is unavailable through injury while Alex Sandro is potentially in-line to start.

Latest matches: Juventus Turin

15.02.2019	Seri	Juventus Turin	Frosinone Calcio	3:0	W
10.02.2019	Seri	US Sassuolo	Juventus Turin	0:3	W
02.02.2019	Seri	Juventus Turin	Parma FC	3:3	D
30.01.2019	Copp	Atalanta Bergamasca	Juventus Turin	3:0	L
27.01.2019	Seri	Lazio Roma	Juventus Turin	1:2	W

SUMMARY

It’s a tough one to call with both sides being so resolute defensively which is why backing under 2.5 goals looks very realistic. Despite Atletico being so dominant at home usually, they are facing a familiar foe in Cristiano Ronaldo who has a great record against them. I wouldn’t put it past the former Real Madrid star getting on the scoresheet.