Champions League Group C: Draw secures Atleti against Galatasaray
Published:
Matt Haynes | November 24, 2015
Atletico Madrid v Galatasaray
- Champions League Group F
- Wednesday, November 25th
- Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
- Vicente Calderon, Madrid
- Live on BT Sport Extra 4
Point to prove for Atleti progression
Diego Simeone’s side are odds-on at 2/7 with Coral to beat Galatasaray, though they can progress into the last 16 of the Champions League with just a point.
With Benfica, who play Astana in the other Champions League Group C match, top of the pile, Atletico Madrid can effectively strengthen their case to finish first if they win and the Portuguese outfit lose away from home.
Atleti have more than enough to beat Galatasaray and are unbeaten in eight matches across all competitions, winning their last two La Liga matches 1-0 showing resilience to close out their opponents.
Griezmann guile to stun Gala again
In the reverse, formidable French forward Antoine Griezmann bagged a brace to ensure a 2-0 victory and the 24-year-old who is attracting interest from Premier League duo Chelsea and Manchester City, is 14/5 to open the scoring.
He dispatched in the club’s last home match and is a constant threat to opponents. A return of seven goals in 16 total appearances this term isn’t bad going, while he has also had new personnel to try and forge on-field relationships with.
When exciting summer signing Luciano Vietto fully recovers from injury, the combination between the duo is sure to further light up Atleti’s attacking line.
He appeared as a substitute in the win over Real Betis last time out, and is 7/2 to strike last. It could well be Fernando Torres though, who leads the line. The Spaniard is 10/3 to break the deadlock.
Simeone satisfied
Boss Simeone admits that while it is too early to sum up Atleti’s season so far, he is pleased with their progress and the form of the players.
In the aftermath of their recent win, he said: “The most important thing is to continue growing. We’ll see if we can maintain the level we showed [on Sunday], which was very good.
“We want to surpass the numbers we recorded last season and see how far we go, but the idea is to always go game by game. It’s too early to take stock [of our season]. We want to keep growing, but I must praise the enthusiasm of the lads as they keep winning.”
Having gone so close to winning the Champions League in 2014, Simeone will take heart from the fact that he is certainly capable, though there is no doubting the strength of the teams in this season’s competition.
Double trouble in Gala threat
While on paper at least, the visitors appear weaker, the quality of past Champions League winner with Inter Milan, Wesley Sneijder and former Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski can cause problems.
Although Galatasaray haven’t won in three matches, both players have hit the back of the net, with Podolski scoring in each fixture.
The German is a fantastic 4/1 to net anytime, while Sneijder, who is a dead-ball specialist has odds of 11/2 in the same market and, if afforded space, can be a menace.
Related
Check out our extensive Champions League archive.
Coral’s top tip: Podolski looks superb value @ 4/1 with Coral to net anytime.
