Manchester United head to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday badly needing a good performance, and a win, to kick-start their season.
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Michael Carrick’s side kicked off the Champions League league phase with a home win against Sabah, but they’ve won just once from their opening six Premier League games and slumped to a disappointing home draw against Spurs at the weekend. They were outplayed by Spurs and then failed to see out a lead late on, with their opponents down to 10 men for the final 15 minutes, as key defensive lapses continue to haunt them.
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On the other side of things Atletico Madrid have had a very good start to the La Liga season, as they sit second in the table, and Diego Simeone has once again created a high-energy team to play against. But this version of Atleti has so many great attacking options and can really hurt you. Atletico lost at Liverpool in their Champions League opener so they will be desperate for a win to get their European campaign off and running.
How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday (October 13)
Venue: Estadio Metropolitano — Madrid, Spain
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
Atletico Madrid team news
Simeone has once again created a tough, intense Atletico team and he has plenty of options in attack. Ademola Lookman has been superb out wide, while Jonathan David, Alexander Sorloth, Kang In-Lee and Alex Baena have all been chipping in with goals and assists. And then there’s Julian Alvarez. Their star forward didn’t get the move to Barcelona he wanted this summer but he’s gradually being reintegrated into the lineup and it feels like he could be the difference on this big Champions League night. After his summer arrival from Spurs, Cristian Romero will also surely be at the heart of a tough Atletico rearguard, who will press United high from the start.
Manchester United team news
United are missing key striker Benjamin Sesko through injury, while center back Matthijs de Ligt is back in training but duo Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte remain out. Noussair Mazraoui is a doubt. United will surely make changes after the display against Spurs lacked energy and creativity. It would not be surprising to see the likes of Diogo Dalot, Carlos Baleba and Marcus Rashford come in as Carrick tries to make United more solid defensively and a bigger threat on the counter. Amad Diallo, Youri Tielemans and Leny Yoro are likely to make way from the starting lineup.
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United prediction
Given their current performances levels it feels like a draw would be a great result for United. And they will get it. Just. Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United.