Dutch champions Feyenoord take on the tricky challenge of Atletico Madrid as both clubs jostle for a qualification spot from their UEFA Champions League group.
Feyenoord and Atleti renew hostilities for a second-ever meeting as the Spanish side travels to De Kuip. In their other encounter, Alvaro Morata scored twice to secure a 3-2 fightback win in the Group E clash, although Feyenoord were arguably the better side and took an early lead.
The Club of The People will have learnt lessons from that defeat in the Spanish capital as they look to deliver better fortunes in continental football. Arne Slot‘s men have come a long way since reaching the inaugural Europa Conference League final after his first season in 2022
and they delivered silverware the following season with the club’s first league title since 2017.
Feyenoord began their season with two draws against Fortuna Sittard and Sparta Rotterdam, but things picked up quickly with three consecutive wins by at least five goals scored.
Then they enjoyed a comfortable opening evening in the UCL when goals from Calvin Stengs and Alireza Jahanbakhsh saw them past Celtic and straight to the top of the group.
The Dutchmen enjoyed an emphatic 4-0 win against Ajax only a few days later as Go Ahead Eagles and PEC Zwolle were also defeated either side of a 3-2 loss at Atletico Madrid in the UCL, bringing an end to their unbeaten start to the season. Slot’s side will have contested an exciting double-header against Lazio before they face a decisive game at home to Atletico Madrid.
Hence, they will look to demolish a defence that has failed to keep a clean sheet in seven of their 11 games in all competitions at the time of writing.
The Rotterdamers are the top scorers in the Eredivisie, and only six teams have scored more than their four goals after two UCL games. Their attacking impetus is there for all to see,, but they must be wary of a dangerous Atleti side who knows how to escape tricky European ties.
The away side is a dangerous proposition to just about any team on the planet, and they will be confident of leaving Holland with another result being group favourites.
Diego Simeone’s side has quietly gone about their business as usual and started the La Liga campaign with three wins against Granada, Numancia and Rayo Vallecano, as well as a draw at Real Betis in their first four games until Valencia dealt them their first defeat with a 3-0 reverse at the Mestalla.
They drew Lazio on Matchday 1 of the Champions League campaign after looking to be heading towards victory thanks to Pablo Barrios’ first-half strike. Still, they were pegged back by goalkeeper Ivan Provedel’s sensational late equaliser.
A 3-1 win in the derby against Real Madrid sparked a five-game winning run, but most importantly, they got their European campaign up and running with a 3-2 victory against Feyenoord to end a six-game winless streak in the UCL. This result has seen Atletico Madrid leapfrog the Dutch side to top Group E with four points from two games.
Being their ever-resilient outfit, Los Colchoneros will be desperate to keep their qualification spot in what could turn out to be a very tight group with three sides vying for two positions.
While one team will have to be consoled with a Europa League place, Atleti will look to emphasise their pedigree in this game.
Match tickets
This match will be played on 28 November, with kick-off set for 8 PM UK time. The action will be shown live on RTL and Ziggo Sport in Holland and Telefonica in Spain while tickets are available on each club’s website.
De Kuip is set to be sold out when the Spanish giants visit the second-largest City in the Netherlands; the home crowd will be loud and proud in the hopes of a historic night. Hence, getting Feyenoord vs Atletico Madrid tickets will take a lot of work through official channels.
Non-season ticket holders who want to attend the game may be fortunate enough to find a way into the stadium via a ticket resale website.
Team news
Top scorer Santiago Giménez will be back from suspension for the Dutch champions, but Arne Slot will still be without Luka Ivanusec and possibly Gernot Trauner.
Antoni Milambo will be back from his injury, and there is also good news in the fact that goalkeeper Justin Bijlow should have returned from a wrist injury that ruled him out for Feyenoord earlier in the season.
Atleti has a worrying injury list, with Thomas Lemar and Vitolo being ruled out for this game. Although Reinaldo, Çağlar Söyüncü, Memphis Depay, Rodrigo De Paul and Jose Maria Jimenez are currently injured, they should all have made full recoveries by the time this fixture comes around.
Line-ups
Bijlow is expected to make a big difference for the home side, as he missed the first leg of this encounter due to a broken wrist. The keeper will offer confidence and protection to his backline, while Gimenez brings the goalscoring tenacity upfront.
Feyenoord: Bijlow; Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Timber, Stengs; Paixao, Gimenez, Minteh
Simeone is expected to keep things simple save for injuries and suspension as he banks on an experienced midfield and an attack that has served them so well this term.
Alvaro Morata is Atleti’s top scorer with seven goals in his first eight matches, and he will look to punish the Dutch side’s defence much like he did on Spanish soil.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Hermoso, Witsel, Savic, Lino; Saul, Koke, de Paul; Morata, Griezmann
Prediction
Atletico Madrid are known for their defending, but clean sheets have been harder to come by this season, whereas Feyenoord have scored in all but one of their matches.
The Dutch side will likely score a couple of goals, but Atleti’s game-changing antics may be too much to cope with once again.
Feyenoord 1-2 Atletico Madrid