Leicester meets its toughest Champions League match yet in Atletico Madrid
This is only the fourth knockout tie Leicester City has ever played in Europe, but this is the third time it has met Atletico Madrid. The kindest way to look at past history is to say that Leicester is due for a result. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Cup-Winners Cup first-round clash in 1961, Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at the Vicente Calderon, while Atletico won both legs in the UEFA Cup first round in 1997, 2-1 in Madrid and 2-0 at Filbert Street in a game disfigured by the bizarre sending off of Garry Parker, who collected a second yellow card for taking a free kick too quickly.
Atletico has not been at its best domestically this season, reserving its best form for Europe. It conceded just two goals in coming out on top of a tough group featuring Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and Rostov, before beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 over two legs in the last 16. Although it trails Sevilla, the side Leicester beat in the last round, in La Liga, the sense is that it is coming into form while Sevilla was on the downturn.
Leicester, though, is playing far better now than at any previous point of the season, winning three games out of three under Craig Shakespeare after the dismissal of Claudio Ranieri. The feeling is, though, that the club's improbable run in Europe will come to an end.
PREDICTION: Atletico Madrid
