It was a tough weekend for Atletico Madrid as they allowed two second half goals to FC Barcelona to lose the game and now have to travel to Turkey to play Galatasary.
Form
Atletico Madrid come in having their unbeaten streak in La Liga snapped at the hands of Barcelona. It took a Neymar free kick and a Leo Messi toe-poke to knock off Atletico and now they are sixth in La Liga with 6 points. This loss comes after solid wins against the likes of Sevilla and Las Palmas.
Galatasary come having not won in their past three domestic fixtures. They most recently drew with Mersin İY 1-1 and are struggling to find their form as they sit 8th in the Turkish Super Lig table.
Key Players
The key player for Atletico will be striker Jackson Martinez. While the likes of Antonie Griezmann and Filipe Luis have stood out for Atletico, the new man from Porto hasn't gotten off to the best start. He has scored but he has to produce more for Atletico to go far in this tournament. It is important that he gets off to the right start and he will have great service from Greizmann and others.
For Galatasary it will be new signing Lukas Podolski. After coming over from England, Podolski has played well for the Turkish giants but this will be his biggest test yet. Many say he left England to help bolster his chances of being selected to Euro 2016 for Germany. If he wants to have a shot at playing in France 2016 then he will have to perform in the Champions League and he will face a notoriously tough defense in the likes of Diego Godin and others. It will be tough for the German but if he can make the most of it then he can help himself and help lead Galatasary to victory.
Team News
Atletico Madrid will be without Filipe Luis and Diego Simeone said that the left back did not travel with the team and stayed back to train after their loss to Barcelona.
Galatasary are still trying to get former Borussia Dortmund right back Kevin Grosskreutz officially on their team as reports that his transfer was blocked by UEFA surfaced. Galatasary has asked UEFA to redress the issue. But for now he can only play in friendlies and train with the Turkish club.
What They're Saying
Diego Simeone is hoping that Atletico's opening UCL fixture this year has a better ending than last years did :
"Let's hope we've learned from that experience so we can make a strong start in Turkey" said the coach after Atletico lost to Olympiakos on their opening fixture last year.
"I'll only have the chance to prove myself in training," said new signing Kevin Grosskreutz when asked about the blocked move from Dortmund to Galatasary.
Atletico Madrid have added more depth to their already talented squad and that should be enough to fend off a fiesty Galatasary in a tough environment.