Chelsea travel to Madrid in what should be a tightly contested Champions League first leg against Atletico.
And Los Colchoneros, who continue to lead La Liga in the final sprint, are a formidable outfit and cannot be underestimated in the slightest.
Countering the counter-attack
Jose Mourinho is well-known for his adherence to the counter-attack. The Chelsea manager is best suited to facing teams who are happy to come forward at his team, leaving space to exploit.
Atletico are not that type of team however. Apart from being an fearsome motivator, Atleti manager Diego Simeone has also instituted a high intensity counter-attacking approach at the Vicente Calderon.
Atletico have averaged 47 per cent possession in the Champions League this season, yet have averaged 13.2 shots per game.
Only twice have they averaged 50 per cent or over when it comes to possession in Europe and both of those were against Austria Wien, the weakest team in their group.
That pretty much confirms that they sit back against the bigger teams and captain Gabi recently quipped that if Chelsea gave the ball to them, "we'll give it back".
That certainly does not suit Mourinho's style and perhaps it is no surprise that his record against the weaker sides has not been as impressive as his results the big teams in Premier League this season.
Diego Simeone
Defensive solidity
Simeone's Atletico are notoriously difficult to break down. They have conceded just five goals in Europe this season and have let in just 22 goals in 34 La Liga games - the best record in Spain.
Given the relative bluntless of the Chelsea attack, the Blues face a serious challenge tonight, particularly in Madrid where Atletico have won all their Champions League games thus far.
The back four of Juanfran, Diego Godin, Miranda and Filipe Luis are well marshaled and are backed up by one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Fortunately for Atletico, Thibaut Courtois is available after UEFA paved the way for his inclusion.
One slight cause for concern for Atletico is the fact that three of the five goals they have conceded have been headers.
But in terms of commitment, Atletico have made far and away the most tackles per game (27.1) in the Champions League according to statistics by WhoScored. So Chelsea are in for a tough, attritional game tonight.
Attacking threat
In Diego Costa, Atletico have one of the most committed and in-form strikers in Europe. A scorer of 27 goals in La Liga this season, he has transferred that strike rate to the European arena with seven goals in just six games.
His tenacity also epitomizes what this Atletico side are all about.
He has been ably supplied by a midfield support from Raul Garcia (4 assists), Gabi (4) and Spain international and playmaker Koke (2).
Costa has been incredibly clinical. His goal conversion rate is a very impressive 41 per cent with those six goals coming from just 17 shots.
This graphic by leading statistics website Squawka shows how accurate he has been in this counter-punching side...
So in many ways, tonight's match will prove to be a far more complex challenge for Mourinho than if he had faced a team more suited to his style like Barcelona.
Stats are courtesy of leading statistics website Squawka. Learn more about the excellent work Squawka do and their free app by clicking here.
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