One of the most interesting games from tonight's Champions League fixtures is the one pitting Atlético de Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. Neither of those have won a Champions League title or are particularly honoured in UEFA's competitions, but both are two of the strongest teams in their respective countries, with Atlético de Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen being second at the Spanish and German leagues.
Leverkusen is currently fourth at the UEFA's competition League, a privileged position that would save them the knockout phase play-off. Atlético is eleventh, and if they win today, they would have good chances to qualify in the top 8.
Today's game, at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid (21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT) will also be a rematch from the October 2022 group phase game in Champions, that ended 2-2 with Yannick Carrasco missing a penalty at the very last second... meaning Simeone's team got eliminated.
Meanwhile, this match occurs in the midst of rumours about Leverkusen's manager Xabi Alonso moving to Real Madrid next year, replacing Carlo Ancelotti before his contract ends.
Last night, Spanish radio station Onda Cero claimed that Carlo Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season no matter what, and the club hopes that Xabi Alonso will join. Obviously, Alonso deflected all questions about it from Spanish journalists, instead focusing on tonight's game.