Last week’s encounter in the Calderón saw the Spaniards draw first blood, but by no means did the Germans drop their heads after Falcao opened up the scoring. Mame Diouf responded to the Colombian’s early goal, and although Salvio had the final say in the match, which ended 2-1 in the home side’s favour, Simeone’s men have plenty to be fearful about heading into this Thursday’s return leg.
The AWD-Arena is not an ideal place to travel to with a slim lead and an away goal conceded. Die Roten are yet to record a single home defeat in either the Bundesliga or the Europa League this season, and extended their impressive run even further last weekend by defeated Bundesliga fourth spot dwellers Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1. In the European competition they have scored an average of 2.16 goals and conceded just 0.83 per game.
As Atleti witnessed first hand during last week’s match (especially in the second half), Mirko Slomka’s side is a well-equipped and well-drilled outfit, fast on the break and capable of making the most of its opportunities. In recent years Atleti’s exploits in Germany haven’t been that bountiful: drawing 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen in 2010 and losing 1-0 to Schalke back in 2008, through a Christian Pander goal, the now Hannover left full back.
Mirko Slomka’s side is dangerous from all over the park, and unlike Atleti who depend massively on Salvio (4), Adrian (5) and Falcao (7) to score their goals, the list of goal scores is far more evenly spread out among the Hannover squad. Only Diouf has found the net on three occasions so far in the competition but seven other players have managed to score twice.
Going in the colchoneros’ favour however is the fact that, despite the up-and-down nature of their domestic campaign, an impressive record on the continental road has seen them clock up a decent scoring average of two goals per game away from the Spanish capital, while only conceding 0.57.
As well as that, Diego’s back to full fitness. With his display against Getafe on Sunday, the Brazilian showed all the signs of a player on top of his game and his goal will have no doubt struck fear into the hearts of the Hannover faithful: during his spells with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg the number 22 netted four times in seven matches against Robert Enke’s former side. His inclusion into the Atleti starting line up is also significant for the manner in which he brings his attacking teammates into the game, with Adrián in particular looking far more threatening and creative alongside him.
Simeone almost had a full squad to choose from going into last week’s match but thanks to Gabi, Juanfran and Arda all picking up suspensions in that fixture, the Atleti boss is slightly more hamstrung in terms of his options for Thursday’s encounter. In all likelihood he will replace them with the recently returning Tiago, Perea and Adrián, respectively. Silvio and Antonio Lopez are still injured, and Fran Merida is cup-tied having already togged out for Braga earlier on in the competition. Salvio’s resurgence in recent weeks (four goals in three Europa League games) should earn him a start and I’d imagine it will come at Koke’s expense.
Manzano’s successor has been feeling the wrath of some disgruntled fans recently, with some (quite rightfully) questioning how much more effective of a coach the former player is. With the team’s la liga form toeing the typically inconsistent Atleti line (DLDWLWLW), keeping it’s European dreams alive is a top priority for Simeone, who will be wanting to shut his critics up.
Prediction: Given that Atleti have looked remarkably sure-footed defensively in Europe so far this season (for Atleti standards), I’d expect the Argentine to keep things tight at the back at the expense of playing overly expansively. Hannover are at their most devastating when on the counter so Cholo will be trying to ensure their chances of doing so are limited, with the likes of Stindl, Rausch and Konan Ya not being given space to run into. The idea will be to beat the Germans at their own game by inviting them to push on and catching them on the break, with Adrián and Salvio’s pace on the wings opening up the home side.
2-2
Possible line-ups:
Hannover 96: Zieler, Pander, Haggul, Pogatetz, Cherundolo, Sergio Pinto, Schmiedebach, Schlaudraff, Rausch, Konan Ya, Diouf
Atlético Madrid: Courtois, Felipe Luis, Miranda, Godín, Perea, Mario Suarez, Tiago, Salvio, Diego, Adrian, Falcao
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