Bayern Munich face stern test against confident Atletico Madrid

It’s advantage Atletico Madrid going into the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the city of Munich on Tuesday night.

The Spanish side will be beaming with confidence after their 1-0 victory last Wednesday in their home leg against the German giants.

Defensive midfielder Saul Niguez scored a sensational solo goal early in the 11th minute at the Vicente Calderon stadium to help Atletico snatch a narrow win.

That left Bayern suffering Champions League semi-final first leg lost in Spain for the third season in a row, after their defeats to Barcelona and Real Madrid.

And by not conceding a goal, Diego Simeone’s side has extended home clean sheets record to 14 in 16 European matches, which could prove pivotal in the final outcome of the two-legged fixture.

Bayern was the dominant team on the night, leading on all the necessary stats but one. They had 69 per cent possessions on the night and lead the total attempts on goal by 19 to 11.

What they missed was the all important goal, and they will now need at least two at home to have another shot at the title in Milan on May 28.

Bayern will be looking to avoid losing another semi-final to a Spanish side for the third year running, but it won`t be easy as Atletico have the form on their side after the first leg win.

Bayern have lost to Spanish clubs in the semi-finals in the last two seasons too, going down 4-0 at home to Real Madrid in 2013-14 (0-5 aggregate) and bowing out despite a 3-2 home win against Barcelona last year (3-5 aggregate).

Bayern have recovered from an away first-leg defeat to win the tie on ten occasions in the past, but they have also suffered 12 defeats - including nine in the last 12 games.

But Bayern will be positive in looking at their record of seven wins, three defeats, in ten previous European semi-finals against Spanish clubs.

And this season, Bayern have been unstoppable at home, winning all five games. They have won all 11 Champions League home games since losing to Real Madrid on 29 April 2014, and are one win away from equalling the competition record set by Manchester United between 13 September 2006 and 29 April 2008.

On the other hand, Atletico have an impressive record against Bundesliga opposition.In two-legged ties with German opponents, they have ten victories and four defeats including victories in the last six such ties.

Atletico also have a 4-1 record against German clubs in the five European semi-finals, not a good sign for Bayern.

Atletico have also won 27 UEFA competition matches after winning the first leg, including the last such 15 occasions. And after winning home first leg 1-0, Atletico have won six ties, including the last three, and suffered three defeats.

Coming into the Tuesday clash, Bayern have failed to seal the Bundesliga title on Saturday as they were held 1-1 at home by Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Their main rivals this season, Borussia Dortmund kept the race alive with a 5-1 rout of Wolfsburg. But Bayern still lead the league by five points with just six left to play for, and they can claim their 26th German championship when they play FC Ingolstadt 04 next Saturday.

Whereas, Atletico are coming into the contest after beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 at home last Saturday in their domestic league, which kept them equal on 85 points with league leaders FC Barcelona with two games left.