Atletico Madrid have been brilliant in the UEFA Europa League, but recent poor results in La Liga have seen them slide down to eighth place, eight points out of fourth spot. Their best route to UEFA Champions League might be winning this competition. Their opponents on Thursday, Hannover 96, are in very good form and will be tough to keep off the scoreboard if previous away games are any indication.
Atletico Madrid Vs. Hannover 96, 2012 UEFA Europa League: Can Diego Simeone Stop Atleti’s Skid?
Atletico Madrid are in bad form and dealing with injuries, but they still have the talent to overtake a solid Hannover team.
Hannover lost on the weekend in Bundesliga, but played well in a 2-1 loss away to Bayern Munich. Prior to that game, their previous two results were a 4-1 win over Cologne and a 4-0 win over Standard Liege in Europa League. In both of their knockout stage away games, they have been able to score, giving themselves an advantage heading into the second leg of both ties.
Diego and Thiago have recently returned from injuries for Atleti and could feature in this game. Silvio and Antonio Lopez are still out injured. Hannover have a full squad, save for Leon Andraesen, who has been injured for an extended period of time.
Game Date/Time: Thursday, March 29, 3:05 p.m. ET, 9:05 p.m. local
Venue: Estadio Vicente Calderon, Madrid, Spain
TV: DirecTV Soccer (USA), ITV 4 (UK)
We’ll have individual previews and live coverage of every match in our UEFA Europa League Quarterfinals StoryStream.
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