Atletico Madrid face a must-win match in Group C in the Champions League on November 22nd. Atletico has three points, which is four points behind second-place Chelsea as they are at home to host Roma, who tops the group with eight points. A win will keep Atletico in the running to get to the knockout stages, but they need all three points.
What To Know About Roma
Roma ran over Chelsea by a scoreline of 3-0 in their last Champions League match at home as Stephen El Shaarawy opened up the scoring after a minute and then added another 35 minutes later, and Diego Perotti put the icing on the cake in the 63rd minute. It was a comprehensive performance from Roma, who have two wins and two draws with eight goals scored and four goals allowed. Edin Dzeko leads the team with two goals, while El Shaarawy now has two, but it has been a team performance to get Roma to the top of the group. The back line has held up well as three of their four goals allowed came in their 3-3 draw at Chelsea, so they can be opened up. However, they have been pretty solid so far in the Champions League.
What To Know About Atletico Madrid
Atletico were held to a 1-1 draw at home with FK Qarabag, who also held Atletico to a draw at home and those are the games where Atletico might look back on and rue. Thomas scored in the 56th minute to tie the game for Atletico, who have scored just two goals and allowed three so far in the Champions League. Antoine Griezmann has scored one of those goals, but you would expect much, much more from a player of his class as he has 12 shots on goal, but only three have found the target. But it isn’t just Griezmann that has been disappointing. They have been the opposite of Roma in that it has been a total team performance, but it has been a poor one as Atletico looks tired and uninspired, and they’re about to find themselves out of the Champions League. If Qarabag pulls off a shocker against Chelsea in the other Group C game, Atletico might not even make it to the Europa League.
Outlook
Atletico are favored at home at -106, while Roma is rated at +275 and a draw comes in at +250. These two have met three times, starting with the quarterfinals of the 1999 UEFA Cup (what is now the Europa League) in which Atletico won 2-1 both home and away. The two also played to a 0-0 draw at Roma in September in a game that Atletico probably should have won. While Roma had 52% of the ball, they put just one of their 11 shots on target, while Atletico put 10 of their 20 shots on target and Saul Niguez hit the post in injury time. There is no doubting that Atletico needs to win this game, but Roma has Chelsea breathing down their necks for first place, and these two could very well battle to another draw.
Champions League Betting Pick: Draw
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