Chelsea vs Atlético de Madrid Champions League preview: where to watch, predicted line-ups, team news

Chelsea host Atlético in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg on 17 March at 21:00 CET. This page will update with team news, quotes and expert analysis as kick-off approaches.

What happened in the first leg?

A tight contest with chances hard to come by was decided by a moment of magic from Olivier Giroud, whose sensational overhead kick midway through the second half separated the sides in Bucharest.

Where to watch the game on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

Form guide

Chelsea
Form: WWDWDW
Latest: Leeds 0-0 Chelsea, 13/03
Where they stand: 4th in Premier League

Atlético
Form: DWDWLL
Latest: Getafe 0-0 Atlético, 13/03
Where they stand: 1st in Liga

Possible line-ups

Chelsea: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rüdiger; James, Kanté, Kovačić, Alonso; Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Werner

Atlético: Oblak; Trippier, Savić, Felipe, Hermoso, Carrasco; Llorente, Koke, Lemar; Correa, Suárez

Expert predictions

Jon Phipps, Chelsea reporter: Still unbeaten under Thomas Tuchel, the Blues will hope to hold on to the narrow advantage they gained in the first leg. They have kept five clean sheets in a row, and another one here will complete the job, but things are made tougher by the absences of Jorginho and Mason Mount in midfield.

Joe Walker, Atlético repoter: After dazzling in the Liga with their attacking verve, Atlético reverted to type in the first leg, looking to sit back, soak up the pressure and take a positive result back to London. A piece of magic from Olivier Giroud ensured an otherwise perfectly-executed game-plan fell by the wayside and now the onus is on the Rojiblancos to find a way back into the tie. Forward Luis Suárez has not scored an away goal in this competition since September 2015, and you suspect that is a stat he will need to rectify if Atleti are to stand a chance.

View from the camps

Chelsea coach Thomas TuchelAFP via Getty Images

Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea manager: “It's a big challenge for us like in the first leg, but we played an amazing match there and we want to repeat the same performance to be able to go through. We know how hard it is to beat Atlético, but this is our plan.”

Diego Simeone, Atlético coach: "We have just one aim: to win. We have to take the match where we want so we can win. You can start winning in the 84th minute or the tenth minute because they are all possible results. The aim is to take the match to them. We don’t know how they will think about the match, but I know what we want from the match, and that's to win it.”