19:45 That is all from me, Kyle Sennikoff, today and make sure you stay tuned for our recaps of today's action. Until next time, good night!
19:40 My man of the match today is Leverkusen goal keeper Bernd Leno who put in a spectacular performance to keep out Atletico multiple times this evening.
19:36 That's it!!!! Bayer Leverkusen have won the first leg by a score of 1-0 thanks to a goal from Calhanoglu!
90 +2' We're into the last minute of stoppage time here at the BayArena.
90' 3 minutes has been added here to end the match.
88' Kießling goes into the book too for his shove on Godin.
88' Also, Castro goes into Mr. Kralovec's book for a challenge on Torres, but he also goes into the books.
87' Now Brandt will make way for the goal scorer, Calhanoglu.
82' Leverkusen are now comfortable just sitting back and making sure that they do not concede an away goal late in the match.
80' Kießling will now enter the fray as he replaces Drmic.
79' Mandzukic flicks a ball forward towards Torres but Wendell is there to deny the Spanish striker.
76' THAT'S IT!! Tiago has been sent off for his harsh challenge on Bellarabi as he picks up his second yellow!
75' The ball is in the back of the net!! But no! Off of a corner, the ball appears to have gone out of play and Torres does not score the equalizer.
74' On the other end, Drmic does well to open up some space, but his effort is poor in the end.
74' Gabi whips in a free kick from the right corner flag, but it is delt with well.
71' Free kick for Calhanoglu in a dangerous area. He's capable of scoring from here. His shot goes through the wall, but Moya does well to collect the ball.
67' And it'll be Bender coming off to make way for Rolfes in a like for like substitution.
66' Now Leverkusen will make a change here shortly as Rolfes will be making his way into this match.
64' Enough is enough for Simeone as Fernando Torres comes on for Turan in their final substition.
62' Now Bender gets booked for having words with the ref.
60' Godin gets a yellow card and will miss the return leg at the Vicente Calderon.
59' Son uses his hand to control the ball inside the box and Atletico get the free kick.
57' GOAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!! Bayer Leverkusen have taken the lead! Calhanoglu receives the ball from Bellarabi after he flicked it back to the Turkish attacking midfielder. There was nothing Moya could do about that one!
55' Wendell gets called for a foul and kicks the ball away; lucky to not get a yellow card.
51' Leverkusen get their first corner of the half... and it comes to nothing.
50' Garcia spots Leno off his line and fires from well outside the box and the ball bounces wide and to the right of the target.
48' Simeone must've had a word with his guys at halftime, because they are certainly playing with a little bit more intensity.
47' A free kick for the visitors has been given in a dangerous area on the right side of the pitch.
46' Atletico get us back underway!
18:36 We'll be back when the second half gets started to bring you the closing stages of this match.
18:34 The referee blows his whistle for halftime and the score is still level at zero. Leverkusen dominated much of that first half, but Atletico nearly got on the board there rigth before the interval.
45 +2' Atletico win a corner late in the first half; it's punched cleared by Leno and then he makes a world class save to deny Tiago as the ball looked destined to find the back of the net.
45' WOW! What a tackle from Juanfran on Wendell inside the area.
42' Saul has to come out now as he cannot continue from his earlier knock. Garcia is a fine replacement however as he is an absolute work horse.
41' Mandzukic gets fouled again as he tackles a challenge from Bellarabi.
39' CLOSE! Griezmann waits for a ball to come down and head into the goal, but Leno does well to swat the ball away at the last second to keep the match scoreless.
38' First change of the match is for Atletico as Siquiera, who looks to have picked up a knock, makes for Gamez.
35' The first yellow card of the evening is given a yellow to Papadopoulos for making a challenge on Mandzukic.
32' Once again, Atletico get bailed out because of a foul in the middle part of the pitch after they couldn't clear the danger completely.
28' Leverkusen are playing some wonderful football rigth now and are dominating this match. A cross from the right is cleared eventually.
26' OFF THE CROSS BAR!!! Moya is beaten but a long shot shatters off the bar.
25' The visitors are currently down to ten with Saul receiving treatment on the sidelines; he doesn't look comfortable.
22' Another poor pass in the final third results in a give away from Bayer Leverkusen.
18' Atletico can't maintain the ball very long as Leverkusen are doing well to win the ball back early.
16' The home club looking the better of the two sides thus far, but nothing to show for it yet.
13' Turan with a wonderful tackle before winning a free kick in his defensive third of the pitch.
12' Corner for Leverkusen
11' No chances yet in this match from either side so far tonight.
8' Free kick is awarded to Atletico as Griezmann gets his ankles clipped.
7' The hosts counter down the pitch with numbers, but the final shot from Bender was weak and well wide of the target.
5' Leverkusen with the majority of the ball up to this point, but have done nothing with it. Atletico happy to sit back and remain compact in defense.
3' The match is all in the middle of the pitch, as this tie has gotten off to a bit of a cagey start. Neither side able to maintain possession for a long period of time.
1' The BayArena is rocking as the match is now underway!
19:42 The two sides are walking out onto the pitch! It's Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid LIVE right here, right now!
19:35 TEN MINUTES LEFT!!! That's right, folks! There are just ten minutes left to go!
19:25 The atmosphere is fantastic here and with just 20 minutes left to go and the supporters on both sides are getting anxious.
19:15 So Koke doesn't make the starting XI for the visitors, but Gabi does get the nod despite his fitness concerns from earlier in the week.
18:55 We are now just 50 minutes away from the start of this match! The BayArena is starting to fill up little by little and there's a bit of a buzz in the air here in Leverkusen because of this huge match.
18:45 The team news has been confirmed and here's how the two sides will line up!
Atlético XI vs. Leverkusen: Moya, Juanfran, Godín, Miranda, Siqueira, Gabi, Tiago, Saúl, Arda Turan, Griezmann, Mandzukic
Leverkusen XI vs. Atletico: Leno, Hilbert, Spahic, Papadopoulos, Wendell, Castro, Bender, Bellarabi, Calhanoglu, Son, Drmic
18:40 We're just a few more minutes away from confirmation of Bayer Leverkusen - Atletico Madrid live news, so be patient and we will have it for you as soon as possible!
18:35 Got any predictions for the Bayer Leverkusen - Atletico Madrid match? You can tweet me @sennikoffk and I will get to your tweets as soon as I can.
18:30 Yesterday Barcelona won Manchester City while Juventus defeat 1-2 to Borussia Dortmund.
18:15 Bayer Leverkusen line-up predicted starting XI:
Leno - Castro, Spahic, K.Papadopoulos, Wendell - Reinartz, Rolfes - Bellarabi, Calhanoglu, Son - Drmic
18:10 Atletico Madrid predicted starting XI:
Moya - Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Siqueira - Raul Garcia, Tiago, Gabi, Saul Niguez - Griezmann, Mandzukic
18:05 Good news for all of you Atletico supporters. Arda Turan has been training all week and is fit to play in tonight’s fixture.
18:00 Tonight’s match will be played in a smaller sized stadium as the BayArena only holds a little over 30,000. But the Leverkusen supporters are some of the best in all of Germany and will bring a fantastic atmosphere to tonight’s match.
17:55 The referee tonight is Czech born Pavel Kralovec. Mr. Kralovec averages anywhere between 3 and 5 yellow cards a game and does like to keep the match flowing. However, if he feels the need to cool down the match, he certainly will not hesitate to pull out a card.
17:50 Bayer Leverkusen escaped on match day 6 as they drew Benfica 0-0, while Zenit St. Petersburg were defeated allowing the German club to advance to the knockout rounds. But it wasn’t easy for them as they lost two of their matches while drawing one more. They also managed just seven goals in the six matches and that will certainly have to increase as their opposition can score in bunches.
17:45 In the group stage, Atleti finished top of their group that included the Italian champions Juventus while Olympiakos finished third ahead of Swedish club Malmo. Simeone’s tactics were near impeccable throughout the group stage as they only let in three goals, one of the lowest in the competition.
17:40 The last two times these sides met was in the Europa League group stage back in 2010. In the first meeting at the Vicente Calderon, Eren Drediyok scored in the 33rd minute of play before Simão equalized six minutes after the interval. In the return leg in Leverkusen, it was a similar situation. Patrick Helms gave the hosts the lead in the 69th minute of play, however, Fran Mérida scored just three minutes later to level the match.
17:30 Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid sit in third on 53 points, with an astounding +28 goal differential. That would be the best in the country if it weren’t for Real Madrid and Barcelona who boast the best differentials in the country. In their last league match against Almeria, they scored three goals in the first half, which was enough for the victory. Mario Mandzukic scored from the spot to open the scoring before Antione Griezmann scored a brace before the half an hour mark to finish off the scoring.
17:25 For your viewing, here is the video of that goal from the Augsburg goalkeeper.
17:20 Bayer Leverkusen have found it hard of late to win matches. They have just one win in their last five attempts as they have seven of their last nine points. Although they are still sitting in the sixth spot in the Bundesliga table, Hoffenheim are just one spot behind and are quickly closing in on Leverkusen. Roger Schmidt’s squad was held 2-2 to the hands of Augsburg. 27-year-old goalkeeper Marwin Hitz scored from open play in the 90th minute to steal a point from the visitors.
17:15 Hello again everyone, and welcome to my latest live commentary. My name is Kyle Sennikoff, and I will be covering the Champions League fixture between Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid at the BayArena in Leverkusen. The match kicks off at 19:45 GMT and I hope that you will stick around for the coverage.