PSV welcomes Atletico Madrid tonight in one of the biggest ties in CL Round of 16. Even though Atletico are considered favorites for this clash, their opponents certainly have the capability to prove this wrong. They were already underestimated in the group stage, but shocked the football world by eliminating Manchester United and CSKA Moscow, so Atletico could not afford to make the same mistake.
The two teams have absolutely different styles of football. Atletico are notorious with their strong defense, but they do not have the ability to create much chances and do not realize most of them. On the other hand, PSV have a really offensive style having scored 56 goals in their 24 league matches. These two sides have met only twice, in the group stage in 2008/9 season. Atletico won both matches then 0:3 in Holland and 2:1 in Madrid.
PSV are in their top form. They won 7 out of the last 8 matches after the winter break and are currently first in Erdivisie. In contrast, Atletico show uncertainty in their game. They cannot score much goals independently of who their opponent is. They are now 2nd in La Liga, 8 points behind Barcelona.
Both teams will have missing key players tonight. PSV's top goalscorer, Luuk de Jong, will miss the match due to suspension. Andres Guardado is still recovering from an injury and he won't play tonight either. Atletico has much more problems in terms of missing players. Tiago, Yannick Carrasco, Jackson Martinez (sold during transfer period) won't take place in the match.
Possible line-ups:
PSV - Jeroen Zoet; Santiago Arias, Jeffrey Bruma, Hector Moreno, Jetro Willems; Jorrit Hendrix, Davy Propper, Marco van Ginkel; Luciano Narsingh, Jurgen Locadia, Gaston Pereiro.
Atletico Madrid - Jan Oblak; Juanfran, Josema Gimenez, Diego Godin, Filipe Luis; Koke, Gabi, Saul, Oliver Torres; Fernando Torres, Antoine Griezmann.
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