Atletico Madrid have been an entertaining side to watch this season in the Champions League, with goals aplenty at both ends of the field. Diego Simeone’s men have earned the reputation over the years of being a pragmatic, defensive side who are tough to beat, but Atletico haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their six European matches this season. 

However, their efficiency in the final third has masked any defensive frailties, as the Red and Whites have won four of their six games. Over 2.5 goals has landed in all of their Champions League games so far, with Atletico contributing multiple goals in five. The only game they failed to score in was against Arsenal - the team who currently sit top of the Champions League standings with six wins from six. 

Galatasaray have been less enterprising so far, but they have remained a threat at home, and will be confident of causing this Atletico Madrid side problems.

The visitors come into this clash as marginal favourites, but it’s difficult to pick a winner here with both sides looking evenly-matched. Both sides will fancy their chances of taking the three points, so this could be a very competitive contest. Galatasaray tend to play with an increased intensity on home turf, buoyed on by a strong home support. 

That is reflected by an uptick in cards - the Turkish side were shown five yellow cards and a red in their last European home match against USG. They were again given five yellow cards against Liverpool back in September. 

Atletico haven’t been completely innocent, either. They have picked up seven yellow cards and a red from their three Champions League matches on the road this season. Istvan Kovacs is the referee for this clash, and he has shown at least four cards in all three of his Champions League matches so far.

Giuliano Simeone is Atletico Madrid’s most-fouled player this season, averaging 2.1 fouls drawn per 90 across all competitions this season. Much like Diego Simeone, Giuliano plays with his heart on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to get stuck into duels. The winger is adept at drawing soft free kicks in dangerous positions, which bodes well against a side like Galatasaray. They racked up 17 fouls against Gaziantep at the weekend, drawing that game 1-1. 

Simeone’s primary matchup on the flank will be Eren Elmali, which isn’t particularly enticing given how the full back is only averaging 0.7 fouls per 90 this season. However, Baris Yilmas does have quite a high work rate, and tends to track back to help out with defensive duties. He is averaging 1.58 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, and should occupy the same zone of the field against Simeone.

After joining from Almeria over the summer, Marc Pubill was handed his first start for Atletico Madrid in November, and he has since established himself as an important first team player. He has started eight of Atletico’s last nine matches at the back, during which he has committed a total of 12 fouls. 

He emulates the role of Robin Le Normand - tasked with being incredibly aggressive in his duels, and he looks to retain possession for his side. Pubill isn’t shy to get tough-tight to his marker, which can sometimes result in him being drawn out of position.

As well as 1.3 fouls per 90, the Spaniard is also averaging 1.95 tackles per 90, highlighting a real willingness to contest duels and be aggressive. He should have plenty of defensive work to get through against Galatasaray on Wednesday night, which makes fouls a target for him.