Manchester United v Atletico Madrid betting tips: Spanish conquest promising
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Manchester United v Atletico Madrid
Manchester United are still on a high after Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick secured a 3-2 victory over Tottenham at the weekend, but they have no time to rest as they return to Champions League action on Tuesday.
Anthony Elanga’s 80th-minute equaliser gave the Red Devils a barely-deserved 1-1 draw in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie, but they have home advantage for the return for which they are 23/20 favourites.
Old Trafford will be rocking as the hosts look to book their place in the quarter-finals so let’s look at some of the talking points and odds in our Man Utd v Atletico betting tips.
Man Utd v Atletico form
United go into the match on the back of Saturday’s breathless victory against top-four rivals Spurs.
Ronaldo returned from injury to smash home a stunning 25-yard opener and then converted Jadon Sancho’s cross to restore their lead.
Harry Maguire’s own goal meant United were staring at an unwanted draw until Ronaldo rose highest to head home an Alex Telles corner nine minutes from time to help banish the memory of last weekend’s humiliating Manchester derby which they lost 4-1 at the Etihad.
Ralf Rangnick has provided an update on his squad ahead of tomorrow night's Old Trafford showpiece ✨👇#MUFC | #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 14, 2022
United have lost only one of their last 10 Premier League games but they could only draw against the likes of relegation candidates Burnley and Watford during that spell and in truth Tottenham would probably have won the game at Old Trafford had Ronaldo’s hip problem prevented him from playing as it had against rivals City.
We have some interesting markets on Ronaldo for Tuesday’s game, including 14/1 on the Portuguese to score from outside the area again, while he is 12/1 to find the net and be shown a card.
Ronaldo has been shown six yellow cards this season, three of which came against City, Liverpool and Chelsea, so there is evidence to suggest that the bigger the game the more likely he is to be cautioned.
Three of United’s last four matches have involved both teams scoring and over 3.5 goals which is priced at 17/5, while it’s 8/5 with at least three goals as an option.
📋 The squad list for tomorrow’s game! pic.twitter.com/eurLeivIRC
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) March 14, 2022
Atletico, who finished a distant second to Liverpool in the group phase, made it four successive victories in La Liga with a 2-1 win against Cadiz to stay inside the Champions League spots, with Betis, the team they beat 3-1 last weekend to move back into the top four, just two points behind.
The Spanish champions were much the better team in Madrid and are 13/5 to win over 90 minutes or 13/10 just to qualify in our Man Utd v Atletico betting tips, while both teams are 11/1 to win on penalties.
Man Utd v Atletico head to head
United were underwhelming three weeks ago on a night when Ronaldo struggled and substitute Elanga scored with their first shot on target 10 minutes from time.
🎤 "I love the Champions League, it's a competition where the finer details are very important," concludes @AT13Oficial.
"Tomorrow, we'll be ready for whatever happens in the game. It'll be tough, but we'll be ready for it." ✨#MUFC | #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 14, 2022
For a team that has been built on solid defensive foundations under Diego Simeone, Atleti have the third-highest percentage in La Liga for scoring and conceding, and they have kept just eight clean sheets, the same number as third from bottom Cadiz.
They have played reasonably well away from home and won at both AC Milan and Porto in the Champions League, but lost by two-goal margins at both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
United are 15/4 to win and concede, while the visitors can be backed at 6/1 to advance to the last eight that way.
Key Battles
Atletico will be looking to keep a lid on Ronaldo as they did so successfully in the first leg when Simeone deployed a three-man defence.
The head coach has reportedly been working on the same 3-5-2 system for the game at Old Trafford, with Antoine Griezmann possibly accompanying Angel Correa in attack.
The biggest boost for Atletico is the return of captain Koke, who missed the first leg with a muscle problem, but he played the first half against Cadiz and should start in the heart of midfield.
Ralf Rangnick will play with four at the back as usual, with Ronaldo spearheading a front three also comprising Sancho and possibly Marcus Rashford.
Man Utd v Atletico team news
United trio Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw are all available to face Atletico.
Fernandes missed the win against Spurs having tested positive for Covid, but is back in training after returning a negative result.
🗣 "We have a fantastic opportunity to be in the top eight teams in Europe if we beat them tomorrow," adds Ralf.
"The game against Tottenham showed the level we can play at. I'm sure we can win the game tomorrow." 💪#MUFC | #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 14, 2022
McTominay has recovered from a calf complaint and Shaw could return having recently suffered from a bout of coronavirus.
Sime Vraljko and Thomas Lemar have both been left out of Simeone’s 22-man squad and Yannick Carrasco remains suspended, but Luis Suarez has been included.
Goalscorer Odds
After his heroics at the weekend, Ronaldo is the 4/1 favourite to break the deadlock and 15/8 to get on the scoresheet, while Fernandes is 5/1 and 21/10 in the two markets.
In-form winger Sancho is 17/2 to bag the game’s opening goal or 7/2 to find the net in our Man Utd v Atletico betting tips.
Elanga is 3/1 to repeat his goal in Madrid, while Harry Maguire can be backed at 12/1 to atone for his own goal against Tottenham.
For Atletico, Correa leads the betting at 9/2 to net the opener or 21/10 to score, while Griezmann is 6/1 and 13/5 in those options despite not having started a game in three months.
Joao Felix has scored the opening goal in his last two matches, both within the first five minutes, and the Portuguese is 11/2 to draw first blood or 12/5 just to score.
Atletico can also be backed at 8/1 to be leading after a quarter of an hour or 10/1 to score their opening goal inside 10 minutes.
Match info
Where: Old Trafford
When: 20:00, Tuesday 15th March
How to watch: BT Sport
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
