Champions League Preview: APOEL FC – Atletico Madrid

Kick off: Wednesday, November 25, 20:45 CET, Nicosia, Cyprus

Still Hope For APOEL

APOEL, as one of the rookies to have qualified for the group phase of the Champions League for the first time in their history, were hoping to cause a few upsets and surprises. They looked on course to ruffle a few seasoned feathers when they held Atletico Madrid to a goalless draw in their opening encounter, before forcing Chelsea to settle for an unconvincing 1-0 win.

But back-to-back defeats against Porto promptly ended their hopes of progressing into the knockout round as it left them rooted to the bottom of the group heading into matchday Five. The Cypriots, however, can take pride in their gallant performances as they only lost 2-1 against the Portuguese away from home before being pipped 1-0 in their own backyard a fortnight ago after a late Radamel Falcao strike.

There’s still plenty to salvage for Ivan Jovanovic’s men. They can still book a ticket to the Round of 32 of the Europa League by finishing as one of the third-placed teams in their section. If they succeed, it would be the farthest they have ever gone into an European competition. But in order to achieve that, they first have to negotiate an Atletico side on the verge of a catastrophic season. 

Rescue Mission

Los Colchoneros are simply showing no signs of rescuing what has been their worst start to a league campaign since 1994. A coaching change exactly a month ago has failed to reinvigorate the players or the results as Quique Sanchez Flores, who replaced Abel Resino, has yet to pick up a win in La Liga.

The Rojiblancos suffered another defeat at the weekend, going down 2-1 at Deportivo La Coruna after conceding a penalty six minutes into injury time. It was a result that summed up their season so far as they have had a habit of either losing games early on by conceding lots of goals or failing to hold on to an advantage.

But Atleti have also shown that they do not lack any fighting spirit. The 2-2 draw against Chelsea two weeks ago was a fine example of that as they conceded twice in the last ten minutes to throw away their lead but fought back to equalise a minute into stoppage time to salvage a priceless point. And it is that point that could put them through to the Europa League in what could the very last chance to rescue their season even at this early stage. They currently sit third in Group D, just one point ahead of APOEL with only one more game to go after this week.

FORM GUIDE

APOEL

Nov 21 APOEL 2-0 Anorthosis Famagusta (Marfin Laiki League)

Nov 09 APOEL 3-1 APEP Pitsilia (Marfin Laiki League)

Nov 03 APOEL 0-1 Porto (Champions League)

Oct 30 Aris 0-2 APOEL (Marfin Laiki League)

Oct 26 APOEL 2-0 Ethnikos Achna (Marfin Laiki League)

Atletico Madrid

Nov 21 Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 Atletico (La Liga)

Nov 10 Atletico 6-0 UD Marbella (Copa del Rey)

Nov 07 Atletico 2-3 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Nov 03 Atletico 2-2 Chelsea (Champions League)

Oct 31 Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Atletico (La Liga)

TEAM NEWS

APOEL

Marcin Zewlakow has returned to action following a knee injury but he is still not fully match fit and he has been rated as doubtful for this game, although he has been included in the squad list. Boban Grncarov and Adrian Sikora are definitely sidelined while Altin Haxhi will also miss out after aggravating a calf strain. Marinos Satsias will be suspended for the next match if he picks up another booking.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Chiotis – Broerse, Elia, Kontis, Morais – Satsias, Poursaitides, Charalambides, Helio Pinto – Jean Paulista, Mirosavljevic

Atletico Madrid

Raul Garcia is out after sustaining an ankle injury at the weekend. There could be problems for Quique Sanchez in the centre of midfield as Paulo Assuncao is suspended. Cleber Santana and Jurado are likely to deputise. Defender, Tomas Ujfalusi is back, however, after missing the game against Deportivo because of an illness.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Asenjo – Ujfalusi, Perea, Pablo, Antonio Lopez – Maxi, Jurado, Cleber Santana – Forlan, Aguero

PLAYERS TO WATCH

APOEL

Playmaker Constantinos Charalambides has constantly been the heart of APOEL’s offensive line throughout the tournament, either creating chances for his team-mates or causing havoc of his own. And if there’s one player who can expose and exploit Atletico’s frail defences, it will be the 28-year-old former Panathinaikos man.

Atletico Madrid

Sergio Aguero has been inspirational for the Spanish outfit as a substitute against Chelsea and Real Madrid prior to the international break and he was on the scoresheet again at the weekend against Depor. His stunning form, however, has so far been unrewarded as his side have not been able to produce the results to complement his displays.

PREDICTION

APOEL have won their last six games on the trot in the Cypriot first division with only the three defeats in the Champions League putting a blip in their remarkable run. Atleti, meanwhile, have only won twice in their last nine games in all competitions, both of which came against third-tier opposition in the domestic cup.

A win for the Spaniards in Nicosia will confirm their berth in the Europa League with one game to spare. A win for the Thrylos will catapult them into the driver’s seat but it won’t settle the issue. A draw will not help them much as they face Chelsea in the final group game, but it could do nicely for the visitors.

APOEL FC 1-1 Atletico Madrid

KS Leong, Goal.com