Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund Preview

Atletico Madrid will resume their Champions League run this Wednesday when they welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Wanda Metropolitano for the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

The hosts qualified for this stage by defeating last season’s finalists Inter Milan on penalties despite losing the first leg at the San Siro. Jan Oblak’s goalkeeping heroics and home advantage guided them to a second-leg win, ensuring that they remain on course for their first UCL final appearance since the 2016/17 season.

Domestically, Atletico Madrid have been patchy with just three wins from their last eight league games (D2 and L3) threatening their chances of finishing in the La Liga top four. However, the hosts have been strong in continental action this season losing just one of their eight Champions League matches so far (W5, D2).

Diego Simeone’s side now welcome Borussia Dortmund to town looking to get the better of the German side at home as they did when both sides clashed in the group stage of the 2018/19 edition of the competition. That win at home contributed to Atlético’s impressive record of no defeat in 12 European home matches against German opposition (W8, D4) so they will fancy their chances here.

There’s also the added bonus of manager Diego Simeone never losing a UCL home knockout match as Atletico boss (W10, D6) with his side keeping a remarkable 12 clean sheets in that time.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund, like their hosts, have been patchy domestically. Their inconsistency has left them currently outside of the Bundesliga top four. They had looked to have turned a corner with a run of four straight league wins before falling to defeat at home to Stuttgart (1-0) this past weekend.

A win here would go a long way toward rectifying the disappointment of that loss and putting them a step closer to making the Champions League semi-final for the first time since 2012/13 when they finished runners-up.

But getting off on the front foot isn’t guaranteed especially given Dortmund’s unremarkable recent record on Spanish soil. The Black and Yellow have managed just three wins across their 18 visits to Spain (D5, L10) while five of their last eight matches ended in defeat.