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Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg between Bayern Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid in Germany.

Bayer Leverkusen will welcome Atletico Madrid to Germany on Tuesday looking to win a last-16 tie in the Champions League for the first time.

The Bundesliga outfit reached the final of the competition in 2002, but that was when the tournament included a second group stage and since then, it has been a struggle for the German club in the latter stages.

Leverkusen have won three of their last four home games in the Champions League, but lost their last four two-legged ties against Spanish opposition.

In terms of their progression to this particular stage of the competition, Leverkusen finished second behind Monaco in Group C. In what was widely considered the weakest group, they won three of their six matches, drawing once and losing twice in the process.

They have also struggled for consistency in their domestic league this season, with 33 points from 22 games leaving them in sixth position.

Atletico, meanwhile, are bidding to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup for the seventh time. The Spanish side made it to the final of last season's competition, but were beaten in extra time by Real Madrid.

Atletico's away record against Bundesliga clubs is won five, drawn three and lost seven, but they have won five and lost just one of their nine away Champions League matches since September 2013.

Diego Simeone's side, who currently sit third in La Liga, made it to this stage of the competition by topping Group A with 13 points.

The home side will be without the services of Omer Toprak through suspension, while Robbie Kruse and Lars Bender are both expected to miss out. Head coach Roger Schmidt has no new fresh injury concerns, however, with Karim Bellarabi and Heung-Min Son both fit to start.

Spanish midfielder Koke is still on the sidelines for Atletico, meanwhile, but Simeone otherwise has a full complement of players. Raul Garcia is expected to come into the XI, while Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic will continue their partnership in attack.

The last time that these two sides met was in the group stages of the 2010-11 Europa League, with both matches ending in 1-1 draws.

Leverkusen:

Form in CL: LWWWLD
Form in all competitions: DDWLLD

Possible starting lineup: Leno; Castro, Reinartz, Papadopoulos, Wendell; Brandt, Calhanoglu, Rolfes, Bellarabi; Son, Drmic

Atletico:

Form in CL: LWWWWD
Form in all competitions: WLWWLW

Possible starting lineup: Oblak; Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Siqueira; Gabi, Tiago, Garcia; Turan, Mandzukic, Griezmann

Sports Mole says: 0-1


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Wolfsburg's midfielder Daniel Caligiuri (L) and Wolfsburg's Dutch striker Bas Dost celebrate during the German first division Bundesliga football match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen on February 14, 2015
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League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Liverpool660018
2Barcelona650115
3B. Leverkusen641113
4Inter Milan641113
5Brest641113
6Arsenal641113
7Aston Villa641113
8Lille641113
9Bayern640212
10Dortmund640212
11Atletico640212
12AC Milan640212
13Atalanta632111
14Juventus632111
15Benfica631210
16Feyenoord631210
17Brugge631210
18Monaco631210
19Sporting Lisbon631210
20Real Madrid63039
21Celtic62319
22Man City62228
23PSV62228
24Dinamo Zagreb62228
25PSG62137
26Stuttgart62137
27Shakhtar61144
28Sparta Prague61144
29Sturm Graz61053
30Girona61053
31Red Star61053
32Salzburg61053
33Bologna60242
34RB Leipzig60060
35Slovan Bratislava60060
36Young Boys60060


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