Manchester United welcome Atletico Madrid to Old Trafford in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, with the tie evenly poised after the first leg in Spain.
Anthony Elanga’s late second-half strike cancelled out Joao Felix’s opener to arguably give Manchester United the upper hand heading into the reverse fixture.
The Red Devils are coming off a morale-boosting 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur, a game in which the under-fire Cristiano Ronaldo turned back the clock to net a hat-trick.
Ralf Rangnick’s side are unbeaten in their last six Champions League games, meaning Atletico will have a mountain to climb in their quest to make the quarterfinals.
We are Man. United! Let’s do this together! Let’s go, Devils! 🙏🏽💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/tyVGsnCyHh
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) March 14, 2022
The Spanish champions have lacked consistency this season, with their normally robust defence leaking goals at an alarming rate. But they have won their last two away games in all competitions, which will boost their chances at Old Trafford.
Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid – Team News
Manchester United
Bruno Fernandes missed the win against Tottenham Hotspur after testing positive for COVID-19, but will return for this game.
Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay trained with the rest of the team on Monday and are available for selection.
Diogo Dalot is expected to keep his spot in the side ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but Marcus Rashford could drop to the bench after another disappointing outing at the weekend.
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone will be without a number of key players for this game. Yannick Carrasco remains suspended, while Sime Vrsaljko, Thomas Lemar, Matheus Cunha and Daniel Wass have been ruled out through injury.
All eyes on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/1FtgVkg7F3
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) March 13, 2022
Jose Gimenez and Mario Hermoso are also major doubts, but have been named in the travelling squad.
Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid – Predicted Lineups
Manchester United Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): David De Gea; Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Alex Telles; Fred, Scott McTominay; Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba; Cristiano Ronaldo
Atletico Madrid Predicted Lineup (3-5-2): Jan Oblak; Stefan Savic, Felipe, Reinildo; Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo De Paul, Koke, Hector Herrera, Renan Lodi; Joao Felix, Angel Correa
Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid – Key Players
Manchester United – Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese’s hat-trick against Tottenham at the weekend took him to 807 goals, making him professional football’s all-time leading scorer. Ronaldo tormented Atletico during his time at Real Madrid, scoring 25 times against the Spanish champions. United will hope he can add a couple more to his tally on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid – Joao Felix
Felix is in red-hot form, having netted five times in his last five games in all competitions. The Portuguese opened the scoring in the first leg, and the onus will be on him to deliver at Old Trafford.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-2 Atletico Madrid
