Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich head into Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at the Vicente Calderon in fine form.
Diego Simeone's Spanish outfit have won their last six games in all competitions, while Pep Guardiola and his men are unbeaten since March 3.
The aim for both sides tomorrow night is to gain an advantage ahead of the return leg at the Allianz Arena in a week's time.
Atletico Madrid
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Simeone has transformed Atletico into a dominant force in Europe over the last few years, particularly as he has managed to break into the elite of La Liga, which used to be shared solely between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Atleti are currently level on 82 points with league leaders Barcelona, while their local rivals Real sit one point behind in third position.
In fact, Simeone's men have won their last six matches in all competitions, one of which was a 2-0 victory over Barca, resulting in Atletico's progression into the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Catalan club had a 2-1 advantage from the first leg of the quarter-final after Luis Suarez cancelled out Fernando Torres's first-half goal and netted two of his own.
However, in the return leg at the Vicente Calderon, Antoine Griezmann was the star as he scored twice, one of which was from the penalty spot.
As manager at Atletico, Simeone has earned the club the La Liga title, the Europa League, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana, but the Champions League has so far eluded him.
The club came close to lifting the crown in 2014 when they took on Real in Lisbon, but they ended up losing 4-1 in extra time.
It is no secret that Atletico pride themselves on their defensive qualities as they have conceded just four goals in Simeone's 16 Champions League matches in charge, but they are facing a German club that have only failed to score in four of their games during the entire season.
Atletico can draw on the fact that they have never lost at home in a European Cup semi-final, five of which they have been part of, as they have won three and drawn one.
In terms of their past meetings with German opposition, Atletico have done well having gone unbeaten in their last five home matches and losing just one of their last seven games overall.
With regards to current form, Atletico have not conceded a goal in any of their last four games.
Recent form: WWDWLW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWWW
Bayern Munich
© AFP
Ending his three-year spell in charge of Bayern Munich with the Champions League trophy would be the perfect send-off for manager Guardiola.
The Spaniard will set up shop at Manchester City in the summer, and despite a successful spell in Munich having won two Bundesliga titles, the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup, Guardiola is desperate for the Champions League.
Bayern managed to reach the semi-finals last season, but they were stopped in their tracks by Guardiola's former club Barcelona, who earned a 5-3 victory on aggregate.
The German outfit were dominated by the Catalan giants in the first leg, which ended 3-0, and despite Bayern earning a 3-2 victory at the Allianz in the return fixture, it was not enough to get into the final.
This season, after a stunning comeback against Juventus to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, Bayern were tested more than people may have expected when they faced Benfica.
A second-minute goal from Arturo Vidal was the only thing to separate the clubs in the first leg in Germany, and the Portuguese outfit pulled back a 2-2 draw on home turf in the second, but the aggregate score was enough to put Bayern through.
Since the turn of the year, Bayern have only lost twice in all competitions and in 21 of those games, four were draws and the remaining 17 were victories.
They have not performed particularly well on the road in the Champions League, though, as they have won just two of their last nine European away games and have lost four.
In addition, they have only been victorious in two of their last 12 visits to Spain having lost eight and drawn two.
Recent form: WWDWWD
Recent form (all competitions): WWDWWW
Team News
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Atletico have suffered a big blow as they will be without Diego Godin for the match as the defender has failed to overcome a hamstring injury that he suffered last week.
Jose Gimenez is likely to step in, while Tiago Mendes is out with a leg injury. Fernando Torres is likely to return to the starting lineup alongside Griezmann after the striker missed the quarter-final second leg due to suspension.
As for the visitors, Holger Badstuber and Arjen Robben are expected to miss the game because of an ankle and groin injury respectively.
Jerome Boateng is a doubt for the clash because he is still nursing a groin problem, while Sebastian Rode could miss out because of illness.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Luis, Lucas, Gimenez, Juanfran; Koke, Augusto, Gabi, Saul; Griezmann, Torres
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Alaba, Kimmich, Martinez, Lahm; Alonso; Ribery, Vidal, Muller, Costa; Lewandowski
Head To Head
Atletico and Bayern have only played one another once before and that was in the 1974 European Cup final, which required a replay.
On May 15, the two sides went head to head at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels and Atletico took the lead. In the 120th minute, though, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck equalised for Bayern, forcing the final into a replay.
Two days later, it was a more comfortable affair for the German team as Uli Hoeness and Gerd Muller nabbed two goals each to give Bayern a 4-0 victory.
We say: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Bayern Munich
It is a very tough game to call, and despite many associating Bayern with being prolific in front of goal, it could prove to be a close affair at the Vicente Calderon. Atletico are masters at trying to keep teams out and they could set up in an attempt to stifle Guardiola's men. Atleti will have the home crowd advantage and could get on the scoresheet, but as mentioned, Bayern have only failed to score in four games this season, so they could nab an away goal to keep the tie nicely poised.
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