Los Rojiblancos' Argentine boss is not taking their home encounter with the Serie A champions lightly

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone claims he will not underestimate Wednesday's UEFA Champions League clash with Serie A champions Juventus, saying “it's a final.”

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for them," Simeone said. "They are a huge club and they have a history of having great players. They work very hard and are very competitive".

“I don't expect a Juve side keeping things tight at the back and playing on the counter-attack. They like to press high with Tévez, Llorente or Morata. They like to play in and around the box and they'll try to play as close as possible to goal".

"They've always been competitive. As opponents it is difficult to figure out their weaknesses. They're fast at the back and we'll need to be at a very high level to face them".

Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, UEFA Champions League

Ahead of the Vicente Calderon encounter, the Argentine boss held praise for The Old Lady's star striker Carlos Tevez, saying this about the fellow Argentine: 

"He's an extraordinary player. The closer he plays to the goal the better his return. It's difficult to keep on top of him. You can't give him time to think or let him get on the ball".

Los Rojiblancos look to emulate last season's impressive Champions League run, one in which a solid defense and lethal attack won over critics en route to the final in Lisbon, which they eventually lost 4-1 to Real Madrid.

The Liga BBVA holders though need to bounce back from their opening day 3-2 defeat to Olympiakos when they welcome Massimiliano Allegri's men to the Vicente Calderon.

Simeone admitted he might shake up things in the attacking department, hinting he could possibly change Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic's striking partner for the home game.

"Not every game is the same. He could be partnered by Raúl Jiménez, Griezzmann, Cerci. We have several options of how we can line up in attack".

"He [Cerci] could feature because he's in the squad. I still haven't given the list to the players, but he's one of the options".

Atletico face a race to get club captain Gabi back to fitness, but Simeone confessed he would not risk Spaniard.

"We'll wait until tomorrow morning's training session. If he's not at 100% then he won't play. Mario, Saúl or Koke would be the alternatives".

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