Atlético de Madrid take on LOSC Lille in midweek UCL encounter.

2024-10-17

In an intriguing UEFA Champions League encounter, Atlético Madrid aims to rebound from a historic defeat as they welcome French adversaries Lille to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, with Diego Simeone’s side striving for a record-setting home win streak, while Lille looks to extend their unbeaten run and secure consecutive victories on Spanish soil.

Atlético Madrid

A brace from Alexander Sørloth [69’, 90+9’] helped Atlético Madrid to a 3-1 win over Leganes at the weekend. This marked their third victory in five games across all competitions, following a pattern of alternating wins and draws [WDWDW].

Next for the Mattress Makers is a midweek Champions League clash against Lille. They are eager to recover from a heavy 4-0 defeat to Benfica on Match Day 2, which was their worst loss to Portuguese opposition in the history of the competition.

Atlético Madrid hopes to not only move past their recent setback but also aim for a new club record of consecutive home wins in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League [7]. Though they have never faced Lille, they boast a strong record against French teams, with only one loss in 15 encounters [9W, 5D, 1L], which was a 4-2 defeat to Lens in March 2000 in the UEFA Cup.

For the match against Lille, weekend hero Alexander Sørloth is expected to partner with Julián Alvarez in attack in Simeone’s 3—5—2 setup. However, the team will be without Robin Le Normand, César Azpilicueta, and Marcos Llorente, as all are ruled out of this fixture.

LOSC Lille

LOSC Lille were unable to secure a win against Monaco in their recent Ligue 1 clash, despite having a numerical advantage for over half an hour. The draw left Lille with a record of three victories sandwiched between draws [DWWWD].

Les Dogues are aiming for a solution as they face Atletico Madrid, following their surprising 1-0 win over Real Madrid on UCL Match Day 2. Jonathan David scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot in added time, positioning Lille 18th with 3 points [1W, 0D, 1L] in the UEFA Champions League league phase.

Bruno Genesio’s team is focused on extending their five-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. However, Lille has a challenging record in Spain, with three losses in five away UEFA Champions League matches [1W, 1D, 3L].

Despite this, the team will seek consecutive away wins in Spain, following their 2-1 victory over Sevilla in November 2021. Lille is likely to use a 4—2—3—1 formation, with Jonathan David leading the attack against Atletico Madrid.

Unfortunately, they face this challenge with as many as five players unavailable, including Ethan Mbappe.