Yet another mouthwatering fixture of the UEFA Champions League 2016-17 season on Wednesday sees two of the best football sides in Europe -- Atletico Madrid of Spain and Bayern Munich of Germany -- going head-to-head at the Vicente Calderon in their group match.
The match between the two teams, which automatically comes to memory, took place in the same competition last season as the La Liga giants beat the Bundesliga powerhouses to progress to the Champions League final.
Both the teams are undefeated in their respective domestic leagues this time around. While Diego Simeone's side stay third in the La Liga at the moment with 12 points from six games, Bayern are atop the German league table with five wins from five consecutive league games.
Former Liverpool and Chelsea forward Fernando Torres will start the game for Atletico Madrid, while Mats Hummels is also in contention for a return to the Bayern lineup after recovering from a knee problem.
"This will be a tough game, with both teams pressing hard in attack," said Simeone. "There'll be little space to play in. Fernando Torres is an important player in games like these, where you need to take advantage of the room available to you, so he will start."
For Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, too, considers Atletico as a strong side and has asked his men not to be complacent by any means. "Playing Atlético is always difficult. It will be a hard game; they're always well organised," the Bayern Munich coach said. "We're in good form and we need to show it. Everyone knows Atlético's style. They've got form in this competition. Right now the tendency in football is to play directly and on the counter.
"It's all about having effective possession. Possession is important because it allows you to control the game but you need to make the most of it. It's always a pleasure to come back to Madrid. But it's not exactly great to come back to the Calderón! It's going to be a great game."
Expected starting XI
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Juanfran, Savić, GodÃn, Filipe LuÃs; Koke, ÑÃguez, Gabi, Carrasco; Griezmann, Torres.
Bayern Munich: Neuer; Lahm, Boateng, MartÃnez, Alaba; Vidal, Alonso, Thiago; Müller, Lewandowski, Ribéry.
Schedule
Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich is scheduled to kick off at 12:15 a.m. IST [Thursday] (7:45 p.m. BST, 2:45 p.m. EST) on Sept. 28.
How to watch
India: TV: Ten 2. Live streaming: ten sports live
UK: TV: BT Sport. Live streaming: BT Sport live
USA: TV: ESPN 2, Fox Deportes. Live streaming: Fox Sports Go, Watch ESPN
Germany: TV: Sky Sport 1 HD, Sky Sport 4/HD. Live streaming: Sky Go Deutschland
Spain: TV: Movistar+. Live streaming: beIN Sports Connect Espana
