Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund: Betting Odds & Prediction
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Atletico Madrid host Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday evening.
The Spanish side head into the fixture having overcame Inter Milan in the round-of-sixteen, while Dortmund secured a 3-1 aggregate victory over PSV Eindhoven to secure their place in the final eight. Kick-off is set for 8pm UK time at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium.
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Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone's side come into the fixture having won four of their last six, including a 2-1 victory away at Villarreal at the weekend. Atletico have been flawless at home in Europe this season, winning all four of their outings in the Champions League so far.
They beat Italy's Inter Milan on penalties after the two sides played out a 2-2 aggregate draw over two legs in the round-of-sixteen.
They've scored 13 goals in that time (an average of 3.25 per game) while conceding just three (0.75 per match). Two of those matches have ended in clean sheet for the Spanish club, who are yet to fail to find the net in a home Champions League fixture this term.
Their home form has been the cornerstone of their progress in the competition given their struggles on the road; Atletico are yet to shutout an opponent on their travels, placing greater emphasis on their hosting of Dortmund before the second leg in Germany in two weeks' time.
Atletico have scored at least two goals in all four of their home CL games, and have bagged three or more in two.
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Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund head to the Spanish capital after a crushing 1-0 home defeat to Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. The loss dealt a hammer blow to their pursuit of Champions League football next season. The German club secured a 3-1 aggregate victory over Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven at the round-of-sixteen stage.
Edin Terzic's side have been solid on the road in Europe so far, averaging 1.75 points per game across their four outings (W2, D1, L1). This compares with their form at home, with the German outfit yet to taste defeat at Signal Iduna Park this season (W2, D2). Priority will surely be on taking a result back to Germany, particularly given Atletico's home form.
They've averaged 1.25 goals away from home in the Champions League this season, and have only failed to score in one of those matches. They have however managed just one clean sheet in that time, conceding one goal per game on average so far.
Dortmund have scored two or more away goals in just one of their four European outings on their travels.
Prediction
While Atletico's goalscoring record at home has been impressive in the Champions League - they've averaged 3.38 total match goals home and away - the comparatively low quality of opposition they have faced so far compares with that faced by Dortmund (who have averaged 1.88 total match goals). Atletico predictably topped Group E ahead of Lazio, Feyenoord and Celtic, while Dortmund found themselves in Group C, or the 'Group of Death' alongside PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle.
Atletico do deserve credit for their ousting of Serie A leaders Inter Milan in the round-of-sixteen though, particularly for their 2-1 home win in the second leg which forced the tie to go to penalties. Dortmund have also made habit of conceding goals in European away fixtures, suggesting more goalmouth action lies in wait on Wednesday.