Simeone s Atletico have never beaten a Premier League team away from home in the Champions League group/league stages

Arsenal will face Atletico Madrid at home in the third round of the Champions League on Wednesday morning. Before this game, OPTA took stock of some data from the confrontation between the two sides.

In this season's Champions League, Arsenal is one of the only two teams that has not conceded a goal. The Gunners will strive for 3 consecutive victories at home. Arsenal got off to a strong start in the Champions League with consecutive 2-0 wins over Bilbao and Olympiacos. However, Atletico's visit could be their toughest test so far in the 2025-26 season. Simeone's team has won only one of the last nine European games against English teams (2 draws and 6 losses). The only victory was a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals in March 2022.

Atletico has never defeated an English team on the road in the Champions League group stage/league stage. They have only drawn two games and lost three games, including a 4-0 defeat by Chelsea in London in October 2009. Considering that Arsenal and Inter Milan are the only two teams that have yet to concede a goal this season, it will be very difficult for Atletico to break this record.

Arsenal’s expected goals conceded (xG) in the Champions League this season is 0.85, ranking highest. Opponents have had an xG below 1 in seven of their 10 Champions League stage games since last season, including 0.35 against Athletic Bilbao and 0.5 against Olympiacos. Arsenal's defensive performance in the 2025-26 Champions League will benefit from the depth of the defense. Skelly (69.1%) and Gabriel (69.8%) have the highest duel success rates among players who have participated in at least 50 ground duels since last season.

Skelly has yet to start in the Premier League this season, because Arteta's lineup is very strong, and Calafiore and Timber seem to be the first-choice full-backs. Saka made 19 appearances in the Champions League and was directly involved in 17 goals (11 goals, 6 assists). Since his debut in the Champions League in September 2023, his efficiency in scoring goals (1 goal in 89 minutes) is second only to Barcelona's Rafinha (1 goal in 69 minutes).

On the offensive end, Simeone also has his own stars to rely on. Alvarez has scored 13 goals in 11 Champions League games since the start of the 2023-24 season. This may be down to his excellent finishing, as he has the highest number of goals over expected goals (+7.6 – 13 goals against 5.4 expected goals). Alvarez scored a penalty to help Atletico Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in their last Champions League game, after missing the dramatic 3-2 defeat against Liverpool in the first round due to injury.

 

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