German giants Bayer Leverkusen will have a tough task of trying to pip last year’s finalists to a place in the quarter-finals, especially given their latest results.

Meanwhile, los Colchoneros recovered well from the unexpected loss to Celta and they go into the clash at Bay Arena high on confidence.

Bayer Leverkusen have been regular in Champions League knockout stages, but they have been eliminated in the last 16 phase two times in a row.

And having been pitted against mighty Atletico Madrid, die Werkself are in danger of extending the not so enviable run in Europe’s elite competition.

Roger Schmidt’s charges don’t exactly have plenty of reason for optimism ahead of the high-profile clash, having largely struggled on domestic stage over the last few weeks.

Back to back losses to Werder and Wolfsburg seriously damaged their top 4 hopes, although they at least ended the losing streak by sharing spoils with Augsburg.

However, it is perfectly clear die Werkself are far from the desired form, so no wonder they are as much as 3.20 (11/5) to win the first leg.

The hosts will be without the suspended defender Omer Toprak, while Lars Bender and Tin Jedvaj are both rated doubtful.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Leno – Castro, Spahic, Papadopoulos, Wendell – Reinartz, Rolfes – Bellarabi, Calhanoglu, Son – Drmic.

Atletico Madrid were always going to have a tough time repeating the amazing results from last season, but Diego Simeone’s men have done even better than expected.

Once the squad rebuilding process was over, los Colchoneros started impressing on all fronts, and they remain in the hunt for two major titles.

Second successive La Liga trophy does not look like a realistic possibility after the 2-0 loss to Celta that saw them slip to seven points behind leaders Real Madrid.

But, Atletico hope to reach the Champions League closing stages for the second year running and they can be backed at 1.36 (4/11) to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Los Colchoneros did well to return to winning ways as they hammered Almeria at the weekend, with the likes of Mandzukic and Griezmann extending their scoring runs.

The star duo is expected to keep their places up front, but Arda Turan (concussion) and Jose Mario Gimenez (fever) face late fitness tests. Koke remains sidelined.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Moya – Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Siqueira – Garcia, Tiago, Gabi, Saul – Mandzukic, Griezmann.