Juventus vs. Atletico Madrid: Issues and Decisions That Will Shape UCL Game

A draw for Juventus against Atletico Madrid will be enough to see them advance to the last 16 of the Champions League, as they lead Olympiakos in third by three points.

However, if they are defeated by Atletico Madrid on home turf, Juve would be eliminated if Olympiakos beat Malmo in the Karaiskakis Stadium because of their head-to-head record with the Greeks.

The Bianconeri are currently unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions, but their six-match winning streak was halted by a goalless draw at Fiorentina on Friday night.

Two wins in the last two group matches, during which they scored a combined five goals against Malmo and Olympiakos, means Juve's destiny is in their own hands.

Atletico have won 10 out of their last 11 matches, conceding only five goals along the way.

The reigning Primera Liga champions are adapting well to the different challenges they face and are in good shape to emulate last season's achievements.

Here are the key issues and decisions that will determine this final Champions League group match:

Formation Choices

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Massimiliano Allegri changed little in terms of the system when he took over at Juventus in the summer, although the team did increase their possession.

In five of the last six matches, however, they have used a diamond midfield and four in defence. Against Fiorentina, they reverted back to the 3-1-4-2 structure that served them so well under Antonio Conte.

It would make sense for Allegri to utilise the diamond midfield once more, especially as they won five in a row with the formation.

Diego Simeone tends to alternate his Atletico team between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2, but he set them up in a 4-3-3 in the Copa del Rey last week.

The Argentinian will probably go with one striker away in Europe, although it could be a good opportunity to try to forge another partnership in attack.

Diego Simeone's Rotation

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With Atletico already qualified and Juventus needing to better Los Rojiblancos' 1-0 victory in the Vicente Calderon in October to win the group, there's every chance Simeone will make numerous changes to his starting XI.

Jan Oblak, Antoine Griezmann and Mario Suarez will all expect to feature, while youngsters Saul Niguez and Lucas Hernandez could be in line to gain more valuable experience.

Simeone likes to field his strongest possible team, so there may not be wholesale changes.

But increasing the confidence of the fringe players should be a priority after the forward three of Alessio Cerci, Cristian Rodriguez and Raul Jimenez looked disjointed against L'Hospitalet.

Atleti's Wide Players Tucking in

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Throughout last season's league title win, Atletico's 4-4-2 often became very narrow when defending in the central area, as they looked to combat three-man midfields.

They were still able to break extremely quickly, as the wingers would run into the space on the flanks with the ball and the forwards peeled off behind the opposing full-backs.

If Juve do go with a diamond, then Atletico's wide players will need to position themselves so that they don't get outnumbered.

Atleti are much more expansive this year and play with a considerably higher defensive line, but they may be better off resembling last season's strategy in this match.

Physical Battle and Aerial Duals

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Both teams contain a number of physically imposing players, which was illustrated by the 49 fouls in the meeting between the sides at the Vicente Calderon in October, per FourFourTwo Stats Zone.

The fact that only seven of those fouls were in their respective halves shows the two sides' pressing abilities.

Fernando Llorente, Angelo Ogbonna, Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Paul Pogba and Giorgio Chiellini are all in excess of six foot. Atletico's Miguel Angel Moya, Mario Suarez, Mario Mandzukic, Diego Godin, Jose Gimenez and Raul Garcia are all similar in height.

Los Rojiblancos average the most aerial duals won in this season's competition, and the Old Lady are fifth, per WhoScored.com. However, the Italians did get the better of Atleti in this regard in Madrid, via FourFourTwo Stats Zone.