Atletico Madrid vs. Malmo FF: Key Issues That Will Shape Champions League Game
Atletico Madrid welcome Swedish outfit Malmo FF to the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday, as Champions League action returns to the footballing calendar this week.
It's been a somewhat sluggish opening to the new season for the defending Spanish champions, with their defeat to Olympiakos in the Champions League opener last month making the path out of Group A more difficult than expected for Diego Simeone's men.
A scrappy 1-0 victory over Juventus in the previous round restored some of the order, leaving Atletico tied on points with each team in the group, including Malmo FF.
Fresh from disposing of Olympiakos 2-0 in the last round, the Swedes will arrive in Madrid hoping to cause a major stir in the group by taking points away from the Spanish capital.
Across the following slides, we examine five key issues that will shape Wednesday's clash.
Atletico's Rust vs. Malmo FF's Fatigue
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One of the more interesting issues ahead of Wednesday's clash is where each club finds themselves on the timeline of their season.
Atletico Madrid are just eight games into their domestic campaign, having also completed two matches in the Champions League and two more in the Spanish Super Cup.
Malmo FF, meanwhile, have reached a vastly different point in their season. For those unaware, the Swedish Allsvenskanliga runs from the end of March through to the beginning of November, leaving Sweden's dominant side in the final weeks of their domestic campaign.
Thus, Malmo FF have contested 36 matches in all competitions this season, in addition to six friendlies, meaning Wednesday's clash pits Atletico's early-season rust against the visitors' late-season fatigue.
A rather unusual factor in a game, it will be intriguing to watch how such a situation affects this Champions League encounter.
Tiago's Availability
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Following a fine first-half display against Espanyol that included his team's opening goal on Sunday, Atletico Madrid midfielder Tiago was withdrawn shortly after the interval with a muscular issue in his left leg, per Inside Spanish Football.
An uncertain starter for Wednesday's clash with Malmo FF, the Portuguese's absence would be a significant blow for the home side, given that the veteran has been the standout midfielder this season for Atleti.
Rock solid at the base of Diego Simeone's central group, it's Tiago's ability to be the anchor in any system ranging from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-4-1 that underpins his importance to the team and allows the likes of Koke and Arda Turan greater freedom ahead.
If he's unavailable, Mario Suarez is likely to be his replacement, but the Spaniard's form hasn't been anywhere near that of Tiago's this season.
Diego Simeone's Formation
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To suggest that Diego Simeone's tactical approach is stubborn and one dimensional would be inaccurate, but the Atletico Madrid boss has appeared reluctant to move away from his flat and robust 4-4-2 at a time when his side needs a different dynamic in attack.
Without Diego Costa—and to a lesser extent, David Villa—Simeone's preferred shape has been rendered a little toothless this season, with the Spanish champions relying almost exclusively on set-piece situations due to an inability to create enough chances from open play.
Simply, that reliance is not going to win Atleti either the Champions League or La Liga.
Thus, a clash with Malmo FF presents an opportunity for Simeone to tinker with the approach, given that their dominance at home and their opponents' inferiority should make this game a somewhat comfortable affair.
And what we'd most like to see is either a 4-2-3-1 with Koke as a deep-lying playmaker in the pivot, or an aggressive 4-3-3 with Antoine Griezmann and Alessio Cerci flanking Mario Mandzukic up front.
Can Markus Rosenberg Convert the Smallest of Chances?
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Although Atletico Madrid's attack has been subdued this season, Diego Simeone's men are still among the stingiest defences on the continent.
In La Liga, Atleti are conceding just eight shots on goal per game (second lowest in the league), while in the Champions League, they're conceding just over six (joint third lowest in the competition), per WhoScored.com.
Such impressive defensive numbers mean that Malmo FF striker Markus Rosenberg simply must take the tiniest of chances that fall to him at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday if the Swedes are to make a game of it.
Encouragingly, Rosenberg's form has enjoyed a significant spike since returning home from West Bromwich Albion to join Malmo FF, where he's struck 16 goals this season operating as a potent aerial threat.
Can he take that one chance on Wednesday to create some anxiety in the Spanish capital?
Can Malmo FF Do Anything to Stop Atletico's Set Pieces?
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The gamblers among us must be thriving on Atletico Madrid at the moment. Really, is there any team more predictable than Los Colchoneros right now?
With each and every game that arrives, it's becoming almost a certainty that Diego Simeone's men will score from a header resulting from a set piece.
So can Malmo FF do anything to stop it? Maybe not.
What's becomingly increasingly clear as Atleti continue their dominance at dead-ball situations is that the defensive organisations of their opponents are being rendered almost irrelevant by the delivery from Koke and Gabi.
Whether it's a man-to-man or a zonal marking system, there's almost no one in Europe who whips the ball as viciously into dangerous areas as the Atletico pair.
The pace and accuracy of the delivery is simply a nightmare for defenders, who've seemingly become powerless to stop Atletico's plethora of physical targets from capitalising upon the service provided to them.
