Manchester United and Atletico Madrid will face each other in the second leg of the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
Anthony Elanga scored from the bench in the first leg for Manchester United to tie the game at 1-1.
Ralf Rangnik’s side were far from their natural game in the first leg at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.
The performance against Madrid in the away game was very lucky to draw.
But a 3-2 win over Tottenham on Saturday boosted their confidence.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick has given the Red Devils a win over Spurs and they will be looking forward to more success against Atletico in the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid have been in strong form lately and with a 2-1 win over Cadiz on Friday they are in the top four of La Liga Santander in the main stage of the season.
According to team news, Manchester United will be without Mason Greenwood as a result of the club suspension, while Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw will miss the game due to Covid.
Ralf Rangnik says it remains to be seen whether Fernandes will be available for the Old Trafford clash on Tuesday evening.
Fernandes has scored nine goals this season and has 14 assists in all competitions this season, so his absence will be a significant blow to Rangnik’s side.
Meanwhile, Scott McTominay looks set to recover from a foot problem that kept him out of Saturday’s game.
In favor of Diego Simeone, Yannick Carrasco has been ruled out due to suspension, while Matheus Cunha, Daniel Wass, Sime Vrsaljko, Thomas Lemar, Mario Hermoso and Geoffrey Kondogbia have all been injured.
Jose Maria Gimenez is suspicious of Cadiz after being injured, but Koke is due to return on Friday night and is expected to start at Old Trafford.
Unlike in the first leg, Manchester United, if they do not improve their weakness in the midfield, will be under the same pressure against Atletico as in the first leg.
With the poor form of center-back Harry Maguire and the lack of coordination in midfield, United needed to play the ball as fast as possible in midfield to break Atletico’s low block set-up and attack fast on both wings.
Man United’s defensive midfield, which has looked weak this season, on the other hand, could put a lot of pressure on the game if Atletico presses well.
If the game doesn’t go according to Plan ‘A’, United’s manager Rangnik has taken a lot of risks to win the game. As a result, there is a huge gap between the midfield and the defense.
Playing defensively and believing in a ‘wait and see’ strategy, Simeone will certainly be able to set a counter-attack trap against United in the away game.
