With a 1-0 lead in hand, Atletico Madrid will look to banish AC Milan from the Champions League when the two sides meet in the second leg of the last 16 at the Vicente Calderon.
Diego Costa was the difference in the first leg at the San Siro, scoring the only goal of the game to give Atletico, still relative novices in the Europe's elite competition, a huge advantage.
"I expect the best Milan and I'm sure tomorrow will be a hard and difficult match because the stakes are high for both," Atletico manager Diego Simeone said on Monday. "When there are important matches, great players will appear beyond their present and I insist that the rival has great players so we expect the best Milan."
Simeone is wary of Milan's pedigree in Europe, having seen the Italian side time and again pull off stunning victories from improbable positions in the past.
"[Milan are] dangerous in defining matches," the Argentine added. "It is a very strong institution in the history of football and they are used, beyond its position in the League, to be in this competition. "Milan count on very talented players and it is also a team that has a lot of hierarchy. A team like that is dangerous in a defining match."
While Atletico, looking for their first quarterfinal in 17 years, are still in with a pretty good shot of winning the La Liga, Milan, who lost to Udinese at the weekend, have struggled in Serie A, with a European place next season also looking unlikely as Clarence Seedorf's men languish in tenth, having managed just nine wins in the league all season.
However, Milan will look to put all their Serie A woes behind them, when they visit Atletico in search of at least one away goal.
"It is an open game," Seedorf said. "Maybe they have an advantage but we are going into the game with the mentality of it being level. I have seen a lot of Atletico this season and the team play very well as a group.
"We are ready for what will be a hard battle. We are going into this match on the back of a defeat so this will be an important occasion. We will apply the same tactics as in the first leg, and while giving all due respect to Atletico, we will try to exploit our attacking power over the 90 minutes.
"We have to score goals. We saw in the first leg what our possibilities were. The difference in the score is minimal and the tie is still very much open. When you lose the first leg, it is marvellous to be able to play again in a tie of such importance on the European stage.
"We can write history once more. It is always great to play in a stadium like this. We do not have to be worried by the atmosphere. We are ready for this kind of game."
Champions League: Atletico Madrid vs AC Milan Live TV Information (Match starts 7.45 pm GMT, 1.15 am IST (Wednesday morning), 3.45 pm ET)
| Country | TV Broadcaster |
| India | Ten Sports |
| US | Fox Sports |
| Canada | Sportsnet |
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
| Middle East | Bein Sports Arabia |
| Australia | ESPN |
| South Africa | SuperSport |
Champions League: Atletico Madrid vs AC Milan Online Live Streaming Information (Match starts 7.45 pm GMT, 1.15 am IST (Wednesday, 3.45 pm ET):
| Country | Online links |
| India | HERE |
| US | HERE |
| UK | HERE |
| Middle East | HERE |
| Canada | HERE |
| Australia | HERE |
| South Africa | HERE |
| Latin America | HERE |
Team news: Atletico Madrid: Javi Anquilo is ruled out with a neck injury, but midfielder Tiago has returned to training following wrist surgery. Simeon rested several players in the 2-0 win over Celta Vigo at the weekend, and the likes of Costa, Diego Godin and Arda Turan are likely to return to the starting lineup.
AC Milan: Mario Balotelli returned from a shoulder injury at the weekend, but Stephan El Shaarawy remains sidelined. Nigel De Jong missed the 1-0 loss to Udinese with a gluteus issue, while skipper Riccardo Montolivo is suspended.
Key men: Atletico Madrid: Costa is the obvious choice, and if the striker can grab another goal in the tie, then Milan will face an uphill battle.
AC Milan: Balotelli, as we all know, can be a match-winner on his day, and the Italian striker will need to have one of those wonderful days if the Italians are to stand a chance of progressing to the quarterfinals.
Expected lineups: Atletico Madrid: Courtois; Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Luis; Gabi, Suarez; Garcia, Koke, Turan; Costa.
AC Milan: Abbiati; De Sciglio, Bonera, Rami, Emanuelson; Essien, De Jong; Poli, Kaka, Taarabt; Balotelli.
Prediction: 2-1 to Atletico Madrid
