Atletico Madrid will take on Brugge in round 4 of the UEFA Champions League group stage. The match will take place at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Wednesday, 12 October 2012.
Madrid have not been consistent this season. Los Colcheneros, who won the LaLiga draw last week, are now experiencing permanent problems. This is particularly true in the Champions League. They still won 2nd place in their group in the last draw and will now play in the playoffs (by the way with dignity). Diego Simeone’s Wards now have one victory in the first round. This is a very strained result: Porto won 2-1 at home due to Griezmann’s goal in the eleventh (eleventh!)! Added minute. The match ended with 2 away matches. Both were unsuccessful. Both Bayer in Leverkusen and Brugge won 0-2. “El Cholo,” however, assures that it is the fact that his wards play well that matters most.
Bragge has been a main attraction of this Champions League season. Although the Black and Blues had played in this tournament before, they did not manage to achieve more than third place despite playing well. Hofkens’ wards played inconsistently in their Jupiler-League. This was a national record in Belgium for the Champions League. 9 points after three rounds is a national record! First, Silla’s goal “inside the locker room” won victory over Bayer. It was then unexpectedly that Porto won on his field. Last Tuesday’s hero was Judgla, a Barcelona-based attacker who scored a goal as well as an assist. Even a single point in the second round of the European Cup group stage round could be enough to secure the victory of the nominal underdog and make it to the playoffs.
The clubs had a home-to-home match in 1978 as part of European Cup. Brugge scored 1 more goal. Atletico retaliated 40 years later and won 4 out of 6 points. It’s now time for the Belgians. Atletico will be Atletico’s home favorite. Brugge is a great player, so it’s worth considering the “+1.5 goals handicap”.
Prediction: Brugge will win with +1.5 handicap
