5 reasons why Bayer Leverkusen will beat Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League
Bayer Leverkusen resume their UEFA Champions League challenge with a high-profile fixture against old foes Atlético Madrid on Tuesday. bundesliga.com offers five reasons the defending Bundesliga champions will come out on top as they seek to move a step closer to qualification for the round of 16 in the Spanish capital.
Follow all the build-up and LIVE coverage of Atlético vs. Leverkusen HERE!
1) Superb run of results
Both sides have been posting win after win in all competitions of late but it was Atlético who blinked first last weekend with a surprising defeat at lowly Leganés ending Diego Simeone's side's successful run at 15 games and allowing a seed of doubt to enter minds ahead of Tuesday's encounter.
There was no such slip-up at Bayer 04, who made it 11 wins on the bounce with a comfortable victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach. That triumph meant that Bayer had won their first three games after the winter break for the first time in 15 years. Atlético's setback against Leganés was their fourth loss of the current campaign compared to Leverkusen's two.
With the Werkself also unbeaten in 25 Bundesliga away games before hitting the road to Madrid, the midweek visitors shade this one on current form.
Watch: Wirtz inspires Bayer's Gladbach triumph
2) Beware Wirtz and Schick
There's just no holding these two back this term and any victory against Atlético is more than likely to flow through one, or both, players. Leverkusen scored three against Gladbach at the weekend and Florian Wirtz was involved in every goal, scoring twice and assisting teammate Patrik Schick for a third.
The latter is soaring in confidence having netted 12 times in his last eight Bundesliga games while Wirtz has an outstanding 17 goal involvements (nine goals, eight assists) in the German top flight alone. The 21-year-old is also one of the leading scorers in this season's UEFA Champions League with five goals to his name, and an assist for good measure.
Watch: the immense Patrik Schick
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3) Champions League form
A defeat against one of the tournament favourites Liverpool aside, Leverkusen have performed admirably in the newly-formatted competition, sitting fourth in the 36 team table before commencement of the penultimate match day of the league phase.
Among the Werkself's impressive Champions League results this season is the 1-0, Matchday 6 victory against Inter Milan, a side that had previously failed to lose or concede a single goal, before Nordi Mukiele's injury-time winner at the BayArena.
With four clean sheets in the competition to date and boasting the second-highest passing accuracy (90.3 per cent) of any team in the tournament, Bayer 04 clearly have what it takes to break down a notoriously stubborn Atlético.
Watch: Wirtz - Leverkusen's game changer
4) Improved defence
That Leverkusen have already conceded as many goals this season as they did in the entirety of their run to Bundesliga glory last term is largely down to a nervous start to their title defence.
The team from North Rhine-Westphalia picked up a troubling habit of shipping goals too easily and conceded more than once on five of their opening eight fixtures as they gave up lead after lead. Coach Alonso got to work on the training ground and the subsequent results have been impressive, with Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba and Piero Hincapié looking far more assured while Álex Grimaldo and Jéremie Frimpong - when selected - have returned to form in their respective, attacking full-back roles.
Added to their aforementioned clean-sheet successes in the Champions League, Leverkusen have now only conceded more than a goal in two of their last 10 in the Bundesliga.
Watch: a Grimaldo set-piece special unlocks Mainz
5) Alonso's inside scoop
Bayer 04's coach spent five seasons playing for Atlético's rivals Real Madrid, racking up 236 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions while winning a host of titles.
The tactician featured in 16 games against Real's crosstown foes and won on 12 occasions, drawing twice and losing just two games. Alonso was even on target with a direct free kick against the Rojiblancos for Bayern Munich in a 2-1 Champions League semi-final, second-leg at the Allianz Arena in 2016.
Knocked out at the last-four stage on goal difference with the Bavarian giants that year, the 43-year-old will be keen on a hint revenge when he travels to Madrid this week.
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