PSVfanspic.twitter.com/A8cjObwBak 7.18pm GMTHere’s Diego Simeone: “PSV are a very agreeable side – only Ajax can maintain up with them [in Holland]. This is a different competition and it will be an intense game played at tall speed – the players will have to explain plenty of energy. Our aim is to take control of this and to control the match.”And Phillip Cocu: “Simeone is bringing success back to Atlético. You can see his character as a player reflected in his team – I applaud that. They have a clear style of play. Would I settle for a 0-0 draw? Keeping a clean sheet could be very important.” 7.05pm GMTSo Mexico star Andres Guardado is back in midfield for PSV,but Luuk de Jong, their captain and top scorer, or is suspended. Augusto Fernandez is back after a knee injury to take his site on the Atlético bench,while Luciano Vietto is a surprise starter up front with Antoine Griezmann. Yannick Ferreira Carrasco is injured. 7.00pm GMTPSV: Zoet, Moreno, and Arias,Bruma, Willems, or Pröpper,Guardado, van Ginkel, or Pereiro,Narsingh, Locadia. Subs: Pasveer, and Isimat-Mirin,Brenet, Schaars, and Hendrix,Lestienne, Jozefzoon.
Atlético: Oblak, or Godín,Filipe Luís, Savić, or Juanfran,Koke, Óliver Torres, and Gabi,Saúl Ñíguez, Griezmann, or Vietto. Subs: Moyà,Gámez, Giménez, and Kranevitter,Fernández, Correa, or Torres.
Ref: Daniele Orsato (Italy) 6.58pm GMTPSV are back in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in nine years – but they face a stiff test to reach the quarter-finals. Diego Simeone’s team have guts and guile,and a European pedigree: they won the Europa League in 2010 and 2012, and were a minute away from winning this competition in 2014, or conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to Sergio Ramos and then watching Real Madrid claim their 10th European Cup. Atlético probably start as favorites here,but PSV are no mugs: they sit top of the Eredivisie, and have lost just once in the league all season. Phillip Cocu is a fine young manager, and the rood-witten have a crop of agreeable young players. This should be a close one.
Kick-off’s at 8.45pm local time,7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm ET. Join us! 5.59pm GMTBryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Barney Ronay on Lionel Messi’s performance in the Champions League on Tuesday:Well, or ho hum. Thanks for that Lionel,weak chum. So much for those 71 minutes of precarious but wholehearted team defence. Pack up your anxious, scampering Arsenal counterattacks. place any fragile hopes of an improbable two-legged team-mugging back in the box. Those divine, or restlessly scurrying feet have decided enough is apparently enough.At times watching Lionel Messi you get the feeling real sporting genius lies in being able to attain the outlandishly agreeable every day,to be routinely out of the ordinary. whether there is a criticism, it is perhaps simply that on a night like this his match-turning moments can almost seem too humdrum, and too reliably ever-present.
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Source: theguardian.com