Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea: how and where to watch - times, TV, online
All the information you need to know on how and where to watch Atlético Madrid host Chelsea at Arena Nationala (Bucharest) on 23 February at 21:00 CET.
Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea live online: Champions League 2020/21
Atlético Madrid and Chelsea will go head-to-head on in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash in Bucharest, Romania due to coronavirus restrictions.
Diego Simeone’s men will try to get a positive result, as it will be their ‘home leg’ even if the encounter doesn’t take place in Madrid, while, if nothing changes in the upcoming days, the second leg will be played in London.
Atlético show weaknesses in their last two matches
The Spanish outfit go into the match after losing to Levante in LaLiga 0-2, an unexpected loss that has left the Spanish competition wide open after Real Madrid’s win at Valladolid.
They are still leaders, but now they only have three more points than their city neighbors -although Atleti have one game in hand- and eight more points than Barcelona, who unexpectedly couldn’t beat Cádiz at Camp Nou (1-1).
Chelsea haven't lost a match with Tuchel
Meanwhile Chelsea’s last Premier League match ended in a 1-1 draw with Southampton, being unbeaten in their last seven games with head coach Thomas Tuchel.
‘The Blues’ are currently sitting fifth in the standings, three more than Liverpool and three behind West Ham. However, they are too far from leaders Manchester City, who accumulate 59 points.
'The Blues' vs Simeone and Atlético's pedigree in Europe
Chelsea have played 11 two-legged knockout ties with Spanish teams, with just four wins, while they have won just two of their last 11 away knockout fixtures against La Liga clubs in UEFA competition.
Those are not the best stats for the English outfit, although Tuchel took Paris Saint-Germain to last season's Champions League final, where they lost to Bayern Munich, so he will try to use his experience and combine it to the new formula he wants to implement at Chelsea.
But if experience is a factor, then Atlético and Simeone seem to be the perfect combination. The Spanish club have reached two Champions League and three Europa League finals in the last 11 seasons and have gone through in nine of their 11 two-legged knockout contests against English teams.
The Spaniards without Giménez, Carrasco and Herrera
Atleti won’t have defender José María Giménez, who suffered a muscular problem in the match against Levante. Stefan Savic will replace him and will partner with Mario Hermoso and Felipe in defence.
Simeone won’t be able to call upon injured Yannick Carrasco either, while Sime Vrsaljko hasn’t been included in the squad. Moreover, Héctor Herrera is also unavailable after recently testing positive for coronavirus.
The good news for Simeone is that Luis Suárez and João Félix are both available, so they will feature from the start against Chelsea up front.
Thiago Silva, unavailable
As for the English team, centre-back Thiago Silva, who didn’t play against Southampton due to a muscular issue, will also miss out the encounter.
However, Silva seems to be the only unavailable player for Tuchel. Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz have travelled to Romania and Tammy Abraham is also available after suffering an ankle injury.
What time does the Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea match start?
The 2020/2021 Champions League match between Atlético Madrid and Chelsea will be played at Arena Nationala (Bucharest) and will kick off at 21:00 CET on Tuesday 23 February 2021.
That's 20:00 in the UK, 15:00 ET and 12:00 PT.
Find out what time Atlético Madrid v Chelsea gets underway where you are in the world.
Where can I watch Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea?
No matter where you are on the planet, you can see what channel the Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea match is available on here.
Spain: Movistar+, Mitele Plus, Movistar Liga de Campeones.
United Kingdom: BT Sport App, BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport Radio UK, BTSport.com, BT Sport 2.
United States: ZonaFutbol, TUDN.com, Univision NOW, TUDN USA, TUDNxtra, CBS All Access, TUDN App, UniMás
Is the Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea game online?
Atlético Madrid-Chelsea is available in most nations through the rights holders’ online platform, if they have one. The best option is to check who is showing the game in your country and if they have an online service or Ios/Android app to watch it on.
For example, CBS Sports Network has the rights of the Champions League for the US and you can watch the games on CBS All Access.
Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea: AS English live coverage
You can also follow our live text commentary, with all the key statistics, here on AS English. We will be building up to the match throughout the day before giving you a minute-by-minute account as it unfolds.