The draw for the Champions League Round of 16 set up some mouth-watering clashes for places in the quarter finals, but while FC Bayern Munich vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool caught the eye, a re-run of the Madrid derby final in the 2015-2016 season was the main attraction of the draw.
When: Tuesday 4th March 2025
Where: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
What: Champions League Round of 16 first leg
Potential Quarter Final Opponents: PSV Eindhoven or Arsenal
Real hold nerve to edge final on penalties
The 2016 Champions League final saw an invasion of Madrileños take to the San Siro in Milan to witness an incredibly dramatic final that went right down to the wire. After the teams were locked at 1-1 after 120 minutes of action, the final was decided by the dreaded penalty shootout. Seven penalties were successfully converted before Juanfran hit the post, setting the stage for none other than Cristiano Ronaldo to fire home the winning penalty.
Recent Form
Online sports betting operators around the world have been keeping a keen eye on the two Madrid teams with both at the sharp end of the competitions they are involved in. Gambling sites that accept credit cards in the UK are no exception and betting markets are expected to feature both teams over the remainder of the season. Especially when both sides are largely in good form leading up to this monstrous first leg tie.
In a La Liga title race that will surely go down to the wire, the two Madrid clubs as well as Barcelona have dropped points in recent weeks with both Real and Atlético drawing 1-1 on 15th February against Osasuna and Celta Vigo respectively. The two points dropped was also mirrored in the fact both ended their matches with ten men on the field. With barely anything separating the three teams at the top of the league, the title race will surely go down to the wire. And there was nothing to separate the Madrid teams in the 1-1 draw when they last met on 8th February 2025.
In the Champions League, Real Madrid gave themselves a bigger mountain to climb after missing out on the top eight positions that guaranteed a direct passage to the Round of 16. Instead, Carlo Ancelotti’s men had to navigate two legs against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who themselves had endured a disappointing league phase of the Champions League. However, Real eventually cruised through the two-legged affair 6-3 on aggregate after a Kylian Mbappé hattrick in the second leg.
Conversely, Atlético saved themselves the added effort by finishing fifth in the league stage, but the campaign did not get off to a good start. Diego Simeone’s charges surprisingly lost 1-3 at home to Lille, which followed a 0-4 thrashing at the hands of Benfica. However, Griezmann and co. regained their composure to beat the likes of PSG and Bayer 04 Leverkusen to finish in the top eight.
What to expect?
The first leg in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu promises to be an explosive but potentially cagey affair. Neither side will want to be out of the tie going into the return leg on Wednesday 12th March, and the contrasting styles of both managers and injury problems could place the emphasis on Real to make the running in the first leg. The absence of Jude Bellingham (suspension) will be a blow to Ancelotti but the sight of recognised defenders in the form of Lucas Vázquez and David Alaba returning to the Real starting line-up against Girona (2-0) will ease the pressure on a Real defence that will have to be alert to the counter-attacking threat of Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann.
Verdict
All to play for in the second leg. 1-1
Predicted Line-Ups
Real Madrid: Courtois, Vázquez, Asencio, Rüdiger, Mendy, Tchouaméni, Camavinga, Valverde, Rodrygo, Mbappé, Vinicius
qAtlético Madrid: Oblak, Llorente, Giménez, Le Normand, Galan, Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Lino, Griezmann, Alvarez
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