Lazio - Atletico Madrid Tip 19-09-2023

The UEFA Champions League is back in our lives this week as we get ready for the group stage of the competition. Thirty-two of the biggest and best clubs from across Europe will come together in an attempt to make their push for a place in next year’s final in London. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be a fun encounter between AC Milan and Newcastle United.

In the end, it was Lazio who did the best job of pushing Napoli all the way in the Serie A title race last season, as they wound up finishing 2nd for their troubles. In terms of what the future holds for the club, though, it’s much harder to say given how much turnover there has been. Still, regardless of which way you look at it, they are still a club to be feared at this level.

Lazio had a really poor start to the Serie A season with back to back losses against Lecce and Genoa. They did get back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Napoli, but in their return from the international break they suffered a 3-1 defeat courtesy of Juventus.

They are so often seen as the younger brother to Barcelona and Real Madrid but on more than one occasion across the last decade, Atletico Madrid have made Spain - and Europe - their own. They still have a strong squad and an inner belief that they can spring a few upsets, which is why it’s always hard to count them out in the Champions League.

Atletico kickstarted their campaign with a nice 3-1 win at home to Granada before being held to a draw by Real Betis. They did proceed to beat Numancia 2-0 before battering Rayo Vallecano 7-0, only to slip up again in a 3-0 loss to Valencia last weekend.

We actually believe that these two clubs are fairly evenly matched which should make for a really exciting and enthralling encounter. They’ll both back themselves to progress and although this could be a stalemate, we’re choosing to believe it’ll turn out to be a thrilling draw.