ShareManchester United return to Champions League action on Tuesday night with a trip to Madrid to play an Atleti side who’ve had a strong start to 2026/27.By Ian KingThe international break doesn’t appear to have had much effect on Manchester United’s issuesIf Manchester United fans were hoping that the international break might have cleared out some of the cobwebs at Old Trafford, they ended up disappointed by their team’s anaemic performance in their first Premier League match back against Spurs. It took a stoppage-time equaliser to snatch three points away from them, but there was little in the previous 90 minutes to indicate that a team which has been malfunctioning this season has in any meaningful sense been repaired. This, then, is probably not the best time to be facing an Atlético Madrid team which has won six of their first eight games in LaLiga this season and who are currently in second place in the table behind early pace-setters Barcelona, ahead of Real Betis on goal difference and a point above fourth-placed Real Madrid. They lost their opening Champions League match at Liverpool, but they’ve been strong domestically, with a win against Real Madrid in their last match before the international break and another at Alavés when they restarted again afterwards. Man United have never beaten Atlético Madrid in European competitionThese two teams have only been drawn together twice before, and the historical record is not good for United. The two sides met in the Second Round of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1991/92, with United as the holders of the competition, but Atleti won 4-1 on aggregate, and when they were drawn together again in the Round of 16 in the 2021/22 Champions League, Atleti won 2-1 on aggregate with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the second leg.Atlético have one particularly familiar face at the heart of their central defenceOne of the players who’s been in understatedly good form for United so far this season has been Bryan Mbeumo. He scored the equalising goal against Spurs, and while this was his first Premier League goal since 6 September, his performance rankings have out-stripped his goalscoring tally. One familiar face they will be coming up against in this match is the former Spurs captain Cristian Romero. The Argentine defender has run up a strong run of impressive performances for his new club since his summer signing, and has only picked up one yellow card and no red cards since his arrival!The Old Trafford injury list is starting to get longer againManchester United’s injury list is starting to grow again, following the international break. They’ll be missing Benjamin Šeško, Patrick Dorgu, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton, while Noussair Mazrauoi is unlikely to start. Defensive reshuffling may involve Harry Maguire partnering Lisandro Martínez in central defence, with Matheus Cunha supporting Bryan Mbeumo up front. Atlético Madrid have no significant injury concerns. The aforementioned Romero will likely partner with Alejandro Grimaldo – who scored their other goal at Alavés – and Marc Pubill – who missed this match – in a defensive back three. Former Manchester City striker Julián Alvarez is still there, having failed to secure the move to Barcelona that he reportedly wanted during the summer, though it’s worth noting that he hasn’t scored for Atleti so far in 2026/27. United’s defensive issues are an obvious concern against an experienced home sideManchester United’s 4-0 win against Sabah FK in their first league phase match might have lent the impression that this is a team capable of competing in the latter stages of the competition, but the reality is that Sabah were weak opponents and anything other than a straightforward win would have been something of an embarrassment. The issue at Old Trafford is the defence. United have played eight games in all competitions so far this season and the Sabah game was the only one in which they’ve kept a clean sheet. United may have only been pegged back in stoppage-time by Spurs on Saturday evening, but this was more about their opponents’ struggles in front of goal than any particularly stout rearguard action on the part of their defence. And Atlético Madrid are nothing if not seasoned campaigners in this competition. They’ve made the knockout stages in each of the last three seasons, and in 2025-/6 they beat Barcelona over two legs before losing narrowly to Arsenal in the semi-finals. Their league form has been decent so far this season, and their defeat to Liverpool in their opening match was a surprise. Just as Manchester United have only kept one clean sheet so far this season, Atleti have only failed to score in one match – a 3-0 league defeat to Athletic Bilbao at the start of September – and they’ve reacted to the Liverpool loss with four consecutive wins. It’s difficult to see past a comfortable win for the home side in this match – 3-1 sounds about right – and for the pressure to continue to build upon the increasingly embattled-looking United head coach Michael Carrick. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game in the Champions League with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.Manchester United return to Champions League action on Tuesday night with a trip to Madrid to play an Atleti side who’ve had a strong start to 2026/27.By Ian KingThe international break doesn’t appear to have had much effect on Manchester United’s issuesIf Manchester United fans were hoping that the international break might have cleared out some of the cobwebs at Old Trafford, they ended up disappointed by their team’s anaemic performance in their first Premier League match back against Spurs. It took a stoppage-time equaliser to snatch three points away from them, but there was little in the previous 90 minutes to indicate that a team which has been malfunctioning this season has in any meaningful sense been repaired. This, then, is probably not the best time to be facing an Atlético Madrid team which has won six of their first eight games in LaLiga this season and who are currently in second place in the table behind early pace-setters Barcelona, ahead of Real Betis on goal difference and a point above fourth-placed Real Madrid. They lost their opening Champions League match at Liverpool, but they’ve been strong domestically, with a win against Real Madrid in their last match before the international break and another at Alavés when they restarted again afterwards. Man United have never beaten Atlético Madrid in European competitionThese two teams have only been drawn together twice before, and the historical record is not good for United. The two sides met in the Second Round of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1991/92, with United as the holders of the competition, but Atleti won 4-1 on aggregate, and when they were drawn together again in the Round of 16 in the 2021/22 Champions League, Atleti won 2-1 on aggregate with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the second leg.Atlético have one particularly familiar face at the heart of their central defenceOne of the players who’s been in understatedly good form for United so far this season has been Bryan Mbeumo. He scored the equalising goal against Spurs, and while this was his first Premier League goal since 6 September, his performance rankings have out-stripped his goalscoring tally. One familiar face they will be coming up against in this match is the former Spurs captain Cristian Romero. The Argentine defender has run up a strong run of impressive performances for his new club since his summer signing, and has only picked up one yellow card and no red cards since his arrival!The Old Trafford injury list is starting to get longer againManchester United’s injury list is starting to grow again, following the international break. They’ll be missing Benjamin Šeško, Patrick Dorgu, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton, while Noussair Mazrauoi is unlikely to start. Defensive reshuffling may involve Harry Maguire partnering Lisandro Martínez in central defence, with Matheus Cunha supporting Bryan Mbeumo up front. Atlético Madrid have no significant injury concerns. The aforementioned Romero will likely partner with Alejandro Grimaldo – who scored their other goal at Alavés – and Marc Pubill – who missed this match – in a defensive back three. Former Manchester City striker Julián Alvarez is still there, having failed to secure the move to Barcelona that he reportedly wanted during the summer, though it’s worth noting that he hasn’t scored for Atleti so far in 2026/27. United’s defensive issues are an obvious concern against an experienced home sideManchester United’s 4-0 win against Sabah FK in their first league phase match might have lent the impression that this is a team capable of competing in the latter stages of the competition, but the reality is that Sabah were weak opponents and anything other than a straightforward win would have been something of an embarrassment. The issue at Old Trafford is the defence. United have played eight games in all competitions so far this season and the Sabah game was the only one in which they’ve kept a clean sheet. United may have only been pegged back in stoppage-time by Spurs on Saturday evening, but this was more about their opponents’ struggles in front of goal than any particularly stout rearguard action on the part of their defence. And Atlético Madrid are nothing if not seasoned campaigners in this competition. They’ve made the knockout stages in each of the last three seasons, and in 2025-/6 they beat Barcelona over two legs before losing narrowly to Arsenal in the semi-finals. Their league form has been decent so far this season, and their defeat to Liverpool in their opening match was a surprise. Just as Manchester United have only kept one clean sheet so far this season, Atleti have only failed to score in one match – a 3-0 league defeat to Athletic Bilbao at the start of September – and they’ve reacted to the Liverpool loss with four consecutive wins. It’s difficult to see past a comfortable win for the home side in this match – 3-1 sounds about right – and for the pressure to continue to build upon the increasingly embattled-looking United head coach Michael Carrick. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game in the Champions League with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.