Atletico Madrid will face RB Leipzig in their opening Champions League match of the 2024/25 season. While Atletico Madrid has a strong reputation in European competitions, they have not been as successful in recent years, with only one appearance beyond the quarter-finals since 2015/16. However, they have had a promising start to the season, winning three out of their first five La Liga matches and keeping four clean sheets.
RB Leipzig, on the other hand, has also had a solid start to their Bundesliga campaign with two wins and a draw from their first three games. They will be looking to go further than the last 16 stage this season after reaching that stage in 2019/20. However, they face tough fixtures against Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and Liverpool in their first three Champions League matches.
The match between Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig promises to be an intriguing battle. Atletico’s manager Diego Simeone will be without Reinildo and Pablo Barrios due to injury but otherwise has a fully fit squad. New signings Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher scored their first goals for Atletico against Valencia over the weekend and are likely to feature against Leipzig.
Leipzig will be missing midfielders Xaver Schlager and Assan Ouedraogo due to injuries but could rely on loanee Arthur Vermeeren from Real Madrid’s squad. Slovenian forward Sesko is yet to score in the Bundesliga this season but is expected to start alongside Lois Openda and Xavi Simons.
Both teams have shown defensive strength so far this season but are also capable of attacking prowess. The match could potentially turn into an exciting shootout between two talented forward lines.
The game will take place at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Thursday 19 September at 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT. It can be watched on various TV channels or live streams depending on the country.
