ATL. Madrid vs Leipzig

Atletico Madrid will host RB Leipzig in the Spanish capital on Thursday, marking the start of Diego Simeone's 12th Champions League season as manager of the team.

Both managers have received generous support from their clubs during the summer, and both teams in their domestic divisions have had a great start.

La Dea began the season with a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, then dropped their first two league games following a tumultuous period in the transfer market. However, they overcame Fiorentina twice on Sunday, with Lookman netting the game-winning goal.

They will have the chance to add to their incredible home record against German teams; they have won eight of their last four games against Bundesliga teams, drawing four, and going undefeated this century. Later in the league season, they will also play Bayer Leverkusen.

Given their numerous recent setbacks, Atletico will be hoping that the competition's new format will bring them better luck. Since their incredible run of performances from 2014 to 2017, which saw them make it to two finals and a semi-final, they have not advanced past the quarterfinals.

One of those losses came from the Colchoneros' upcoming opponents, RB Leipzig, who defeated Atleti 2-1 in a one-leg COVID-19 quarterfinal in 2020 that was held in neutral Lisbon.

Leipzig's five previous outings in this competition ended at the group or last 16 stages, making that their best-ever finish to date.

In addition to hosting Liverpool at the Red Bull Arena, Marco Rose's team will play Italian powerhouses Juventus and Inter Milan for the first time in this new league season, making it a challenging test for them.

Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese champions, and Aston Villa, the Premier League's surprise team, are also upcoming.

Leipzig, however, will think they can compete, having started the season undefeated and winning a thrilling comeback against Bayer Leverkusen to become the first team to defeat the German champions at home in nearly eighteen months.

Leipzig struggled to gather any momentum after winning 3-2 at the BayArena after trailing 2-0, and they drew 0-0 at home against Union Berlin on their return to action over the weekend. The international break arrived at the worst time.

since a result, RB has dropped to third place, but manager Rose has been mostly happy with the start, since they have won their first two games and advanced to the DFB-Pokal round.