Who: Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
What: UEFA Champions League, matchday 2
Where: Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
When: Tuesday, October 13, at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 16:00 GMT.
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Sport → follow → GMT
Action in Europe’s premier club competition returns with a matchday two clash between in-form La Liga side Atletico Madrid and Premier League strugglers Manchester United.
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Action → return → Madrid
Atletico are challenging Barcelona for the top spot in Spain’s top flight, while Man United are in the bottom half of England’s Premier League, several places below all their traditional rivals.
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United → challenge → rivals
Left winger Alex Baena and striker Jonathan David have been running the show for Atletico, while playmaker Bruno Fernandes and marksman Bryan Mbeumo are trying to keep United’s hopes alive of turning things around.
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Fernandes → run → things
Atletico and Man United are set to clash for only the fifth time in history and the third in the Champions League.
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Atletico → set → League
Here’s all you need to know about the match:
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you → ’ → match
How have Atletico Madrid played this season?
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Madrid → play → ?
Atletico have made a promising start to the 2026-27 La Liga season, as they sit in second place, five points adrift of leaders and title holders, Barcelona.
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they → make → leaders
Of the eight league games they have played, Atletico have won six, drawn one and lost one.
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Atletico → play → one
One of those results included a feisty 2-1 derby win over giants Real Madrid.
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One → include → Madrid
How have Manchester United played this season?
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United → play → season
United are experiencing one of their worst starts to a league campaign.
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United → experience → campaign
They are 12th in the Premier League standings with six points, having won only one of six matches (D3 L2).
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They → win → matches
Those defeats also include a controversial 1-0 loss to their bitter rivals, Manchester City.
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defeats → include → rivals
What happened in the first round of Champions League matches?
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What → happen → matches
Atletico suffered a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in their first UCL match of the season, while Man United thrashed Azerbaijani club Sabah 4-0 in their campaign opener.
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United → suffer → opener
That keeps Atletico 25th and Man United fourth in the league phase of this year’s Champions League.
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That → keep → League
The top eight teams at the end of the league phase qualify directly to the knockout rounds.
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teams → qualify → rounds
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United: Predictions
Opta’s supercomputer has given Atletico a 48.5 percent probability of victory, while Man United have a 27.2 percent chance and a draw is estimated at a likelihood of 24.3 percent.
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draw → give → percent
Form guide
(Last five matches across all competitions, latest match first)
Atletico Madrid: W-W-W-W-L
Manchester United: D-D-L-L-W
Who are the top players to watch?
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players → watch → competitions
Further up the pitch, centre-forward David has three goals and two assists.
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David → have → goals
Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo (Man United): Midfielder Fernandes, the United captain, has been the team’s top scorer with four goals in all competitions, while the playmaker also has an assist.
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playmaker → have → assist
Forward Mbeumo, meanwhile, has three goals and an assist.
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Mbeumo → have → goals
What have the coaches said?
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coaches → say → What
Diego Simeone (Atletico):
On Julian Alvarez failing to find the net so far this season: “I think strikers with Julian’s characteristics always need goals, not just him.
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strikers → fail → goals
It’s true that beyond his finishing, he’s a team player, a player that can link very well, he can assist and he’s got many more tools than just goalscoring.”
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he → ’ → goalscoring
On facing Man United: “The game will be long, it will be tough and we have to manage our efforts to compete well.”
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we → face → efforts
Michael Carrick (Man United):
On United’s poor form: “We’ve got to stay positive and keep doing the right things.
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We → get → things
We need to do better and we need more points, of course we do.”
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we → need → course
On facing Atletico: “We’ve got big games coming up and are looking forward to Tuesday now.
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games → face → Tuesday
A fresh start, a fresh game and we will go there looking forward to the game.
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we → go → game
Did you know?
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you → know → ?
Their most recent encounters came in the 2021-22 Champions League round of 16, where they drew 1-1 in Madrid before winning 1-0 in Manchester.
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they → come → Manchester
- Atleti also dethroned United as European Cup Winners’ Cup holders in 1991-92, winning the second-round tie 4-1 on aggregate (3-0 home, 1-1 away).
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Atleti → dethrone → aggregate
- United have lost only one of their last 11 matches against Spanish opponents (W7 D3).
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United → lose → opponents
They beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 away and 4-1 at home in the last fixtures in the 2024-25 Europa League semifinals to make it three successive victories.
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it → beat → semifinals
United’s last 10 matches against Spanish opponents have produced 35 goals, an average of 3.5 per game.
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matches → produce → game
Team news and predicted lineups
Atletico Madrid
Atletico have a fully fit squad.
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Atletico → predict → squad
Those include Patrick Dorgu (hamstring), Benjamin Sesko (shin), Tom Heaton (abdomen), Manuel Ugarte (knee) and Matthijs de Ligt (back).
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Those → include → Dorgu
The Aporia
