Atletico Madrid vs. Bayern Munich: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

The margins between a good cup run and tangible success grow ever finer at this stage of the season, with the two biggest hitters in the UEFA Champions League, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, ready to face off in the semi-final.

With the first leg taking place on Wednesday night, both head coaches know that their decisions on the day will shape how the tie evolves and who sits in the best shape for the second leg. It’s not necessarily with the starting XIs that this first leg depends, though, it’s with the substitutions and in-game alterations from Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone.

Both have immensely strong players—mentally and technically—to call upon. They will name teams to not lose and to have the potential to win, and attack the game in their different methods: Atletico pressing hard, countering fast and defending resolutely; Bayern with plenty of possession, movement in the final third and speed in the channels.

As Atleti defender Stefan Savic told Marca, “[Bayern] have another style totally different from ours, but that’s the beauty of football—it can be played in different ways and all are worthy.”

The matchup of Bayern’s wingers against Atleti’s full-backs will be critical throughout the 180 minutes of semi-final action, but look also to the benches for both teams.

Bayern could start with talents such as Mario Gotze, Thiago Alcantara, Kingsley Coman or Douglas Costa—or indeed all of those—on the bench. They are game-changers, tactical variances and can score and create.

Atletico can likely call on Yannick Carrasco, Angel Correa or Thomas Partey. They may not yet be on the scale of the Bayern equivalents for worldwide renown, but they can certainly have a similar impact in their own way.

Correa has scored five and assisted four off the bench this season—the most impact by a substitute in La Liga. Partey has the power to surge and outrun any defensive midfielder late in the game, and Carrasco has the speed and skill to blitz the channels and take advantage of diagonal out-balls, the same tactic Real Madrid used to see off Bayern in 2014, the same tactic that Juventus used so well earlier in the competition this term.

A good start can dictate much, but as both teams’ quarter-finals show, the full 90 minutes counts in each leg and changes can happen in an instant.

Neither will be fooled, or fuelled, by the initial lineups or what happens in the …

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