Astana will continue to look for their first win in the group stage of the Champions League when they host Atletico Madrid in their fourth outing in the competition.

The Spanish side sit second in Group C ahead of this meeting, having lost just one of their three games in the competition so far this season.

Astana

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Astana have one point from their first three matches in their debut in the group stage of the Champions League, having drawn with Galatasaray earlier in the season.

The Kazakhstan champions suffered their heaviest defeat of the campaign in their previous Champions League fixture, losing 4-0 to Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon last month.

Stanimir Stoilov's side have been in strong form domestically though, winning three matches in the Kazakhstan Premier League since losing to the La Liga side, leaving them on a five-match winning streak.

Astana have the worst defence in their group in the Champions League, having let in eight goals in their first three fixtures, while failing to keep a clean sheet.

The first-time group stage side have scored in just one of their matches in the competition so far, only finding the back of the net in their 2-2 draw with Galatasaray through own goals from Hakan Balta and Lionel Carole.

Astana will be hoping to make the most of their home advantage again, with the long journey to their artificial pitch having caused problems for Galatasaray in their only other home match so far.

Recent form: WWDLDL
Recent form (all competitions): WWLWWW

Atletico Madrid

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Atletico Madrid know that a win will all-but secure the Spanish side's progression to the knockout stage of the competition, having already picked up six points from three outings in Group C.

Diego Simeone's side have already beaten this week's opponents once, with their 4-0 win last time out leaving them second in the table, sitting just behind Benfica.

The La Liga side are the top scorers in their group, having netted seven goals in their first three games, with Antoine Griezmann leading the way with two goals.

Atletico also have the best defensive record in Group C, keeping clean sheets in their last two outings, while only conceding in their defeat to Benfica in their opening fixture.

Atletico have not lost since slipping to a 2-1 loss to Benfica in September, winning three of their five matches since, while sharing a 1-1 draw with Deportivo la Coruna at the weekend.

Despite Astana currently being covered in snow, Simeone has backed his player to cope with the conditions at the stadium, as well as the long journey to the Kazakhstan capital.

Recent form: WDLWLW
Recent form (all competitions): LDWWWD

Team News

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Midfielder Nemanja Maksimovic is the only doubt for the home side, having been struck down with a bout of nausea over the last few days.

Tanat Nusserbayev is likely to continue up front having scored the winner in the team's victory over Irtysh over the weekend.

Atletico have no fresh injury concerns for this match, but Luciano Vietto is still out after undergoing appendix surgery last month.

Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco has scored in two of the Madrid side's last three matches, but was taken off after just an hour in the match with Deportivo, so should be fresh for this fixture.

Astana possible starting lineup:
Eric, Ilic, Anicic, Postnikov, Shomko, Maksimovic, Canas, Zhukov, Kethevoama, Dzholchiyev, Nusserbayev

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak, Godin, Luis, Juanfran, Gimenez, Tiago, Koke, Gabi, Ferreira-Carrasco, Correa, Griezmann

Head To Head

This will be just the second meeting between these two sides, with the teams having only previously faced each other earlier in the group stage, resulting in a 4-0 win for Atletico.

We say: Astana 0-2 Atletico Madrid

Astana proved a tricky team to beat at home when they hosted Galatasaray last time out, so will be confident of putting in a better performance than in their previous fixture against Atletico. However, the Spanish side should still have enough to wrap up a relatively comfortable win.

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