Atletico Madrid v Manchester United: Preview, predicted line-ups and team news

Atletico Madrid host Manchester United at the Metropolitano on Tuesday with one point to prove and none on the board. The Spaniards lost 2-1 away to Liverpool on 9 September in their league-stage opener. United beat Sabah FA 4-0 at Old Trafford a day later.

That leaves United fourth in the Champions League table on three points, with a goal difference of +4. It is a second league-stage game, not a knockout tie, but defeat for the hosts would leave them with an early hole to climb out of. Atletico are 1.95 (20/21) favourites with bet365, with United at 3.60 (13/5) and the draw at 3.90 (14/5).

Atletico's only league-phase outing so far was on Merseyside. They scored through a goal in the 16-30 minute window and conceded one either side of half-time. Their recent-form data gives an expected goals figure of 0.91 for and 1.62 against in that game. They also won only 4 of 9 shots on target chances worth noting: they managed 9 shots in total, 4 of them on target.

United were far more fluent. They had 21 shots, 10 on target, 58% possession and 7 corners in the win over Sabah. Three of the four goals came before half-time or around it (one in the 16-30 window, two in 31-45), and the fourth after the hour mark. It was a clean sheet to boot.

Nothing in our data points to wholesale changes from either side. With both clubs having played once in the league phase, a strong XI is the likelier outcome.

The sides met in a friendly in Solna on 1 August 2026, when United won 2-1. Their last competitive meeting was the 2021-22 last 16, which Atletico won 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Madrid and a 1-0 win at Old Trafford on 15 March 2022.

Atletico used a 3-5-2 against Liverpool and are expected to stick with it. United lined up in a 4-2-3-1 against Sabah. With Sesko unavailable, Zirkzee is the likelier option up front.

Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko; Llorente, Koke, Barrios, Baena, Grimaldo; Alvarez, Sorloth

Manchester United: Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Tielemans, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Zirkzee

The game kicks off at 20:00 BST on Tuesday 13 October and is shown on TNT Sports where selected. We could not confirm the exact channel for this fixture, so this page will be updated closer to kick-off. This is a league-stage game, so there is no extra time or penalty shoot-out. If level after 90 minutes, the match ends as a draw.