Hannover has had a strong first Europa League campaign so far. They have been rewarded for their efforts with a tie against the winners of 2010, Atletico Madrid.
Hannover is coming off a 2-1 defeat in the Bundesliga. They competed well against Bayern and almost snatched a late equalizer when Jerome Boateng almost sent the ball past his own keeper. Hannover hammered Standard Liege to reach this stage of the competition. Liege had been a thorn in Hannover’s side in the group stages.
In the first leg, the teams drew 2-2. In Germany, Hannover finally put the Belgians to bed. They scored four and Lars Stindl produced a good performance. Hannover’s rise to the top levels of domestic and European football has been initiated of-course by their brilliant coach Mirko Slomka. Slomka is a good tactician and he will definitely properly plan out his team’s approach against the Spaniards.
Atletico currently sits eighth in La Liga, four points off of the final European spot, currently occupied by Osasuna. They lost to Real Zaragoza, 1-0, which was a rather surprising result following a wonderful 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao. It is in the Europa League that Atletico has displayed their true colours; they have absolutely dismantled some of their opponents.
The side from Madrid beat Besiktas 3-1 in the first leg. That result could have been much worse for Besiktas. In the second leg, Madrid head to Turkey and beat their opponents convincingly on their home ground, 0-3. More impressive than the victories over Besiktas were their performances against Lazio in the Round of 32.
Diego Simeone had previously played for Lazio and head back to his former club for an emotional reunion as coach of Atletico. Madrid settled the tie in the first leg by beating Lazio 1-3. Lazio had taken the lead in that match. After Adrian equalized, Radamel Falcao scored twice in that match.
In the second leg, Atletico struck only once. The tie had already been won by then as Lazio’s chances of progression had already massively decreased after the first leg. Diego Godin scored the only goal of the match in the second half to make the aggregate score 4-1 in Atletico’s favour.
Hannover however will offer a completely different challenge from Lazio or Besiktas. Lazio has been prone to thrashings this season; Hanover is rarely ever thrashed; their opponents do not take them to be the kind of team they can score six or seven past even on a good afternoon when everything is ticking. Hannover does not give up easily and are hard to put away.
Atletico has won their past seven home games in European competition. The task lying ahead for Hannover is a tough one. Who do you think will win this?
Prediction: Atletico 2-1 Hannover 96
In the first leg, the teams drew 2-2. In Germany, Hannover finally put the Belgians to bed. They scored four and Lars Stindl produced a good performance. Hannover’s rise to the top levels of domestic and European football has been initiated of-course by their brilliant coach Mirko Slomka. Slomka is a good tactician and he will definitely properly plan out his team’s approach against the Spaniards.
Atletico currently sits eighth in La Liga, four points off of the final European spot, currently occupied by Osasuna. They lost to Real Zaragoza, 1-0, which was a rather surprising result following a wonderful 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao. It is in the Europa League that Atletico has displayed their true colours; they have absolutely dismantled some of their opponents.
The side from Madrid beat Besiktas 3-1 in the first leg. That result could have been much worse for Besiktas. In the second leg, Madrid head to Turkey and beat their opponents convincingly on their home ground, 0-3. More impressive than the victories over Besiktas were their performances against Lazio in the Round of 32.
Diego Simeone had previously played for Lazio and head back to his former club for an emotional reunion as coach of Atletico. Madrid settled the tie in the first leg by beating Lazio 1-3. Lazio had taken the lead in that match. After Adrian equalized, Radamel Falcao scored twice in that match.
In the second leg, Atletico struck only once. The tie had already been won by then as Lazio’s chances of progression had already massively decreased after the first leg. Diego Godin scored the only goal of the match in the second half to make the aggregate score 4-1 in Atletico’s favour.
Hannover however will offer a completely different challenge from Lazio or Besiktas. Lazio has been prone to thrashings this season; Hanover is rarely ever thrashed; their opponents do not take them to be the kind of team they can score six or seven past even on a good afternoon when everything is ticking. Hannover does not give up easily and are hard to put away.
Atletico has won their past seven home games in European competition. The task lying ahead for Hannover is a tough one. Who do you think will win this?
Prediction: Atletico 2-1 Hannover 96
