Real Madrid lie one point and one position above Atlético in La Liga, and both league meetings this season finished 1-1, so it should be tight – although on all five previous occasions they have met in European competition, Real Madrid have come out on top.
Nuri Sahin was sacked after four straight defeats after the winter break and, while three wins in seven under Niko Kovac isn’t a startling uptick, the Guinean centre-forward Serhou Guirassy has hit form and that run did include an impressive 3-0 win at Sporting in the playoffs – albeit Sporting are not the side they were before the departure of Ruben Amorim.
Defensively, Arsenal are the best team in the Premier League, and only Inter conceded fewer in the league stage, but they had goalscoring issues even before their front three went down with hamstring injuries.
Following last season’s undefeated Bundesliga success was always going to be difficult for Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side, but while they have probably drawn too many games, they have lost only once in the league.
Peter Bosz’s side lost to Juventus in the league phase, then lost to them again in the first leg of their playoff, but victory in the second leg saw them through after extra time.
