Preview: Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Budapest dreams will be realised for either Arsenal or Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening, when the two Champions League hopefuls lock horns in the second leg of their semi-final at the Emirates Stadium.

Last week's first leg - a tale of three penalties - ended in a 1-1 stalemate in the Spanish capital, putting Mikel Arteta's men at a marginal advantage ahead of their biggest European game in two decades.

Match preview

Winning, drawing or even losing by a narrow scoreline would have been acceptable for Arsenal at the Metropolitano Stadium last week, so a two-goal stalemate was a fine result at face value, although there was a palpable sense of Gunners frustration at full time.

Viktor Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez both held their nerve from 12 yards either side of the half-time whistle, but Arteta was left "furious" when his side had a second penalty overturned after a VAR review, during which his opposite number Diego Simeone was frenetically waving his arms behind referee Danny Makkelie.

Only Makkelie and his technology team can answer whether the Eberechi Eze-David Hancko incident met the 'clear and obvious' threshold, but controversy aside, avoiding defeat away from home in the first leg of a Champions League semi-final is still nothing to be scoffed at.

Yet to suffer defeat in the 2025-26 Champions League, Arsenal will set a new club record for their longest unbeaten streak in the competition (14 matches) if they can end their 20-year exile from the final, and recent European and domestic exploits suggest that Arteta's men can do just that.

Indeed, Arsenal made it two wins from their last three matches with a routine 3-0 triumph over Fulham - albeit an illness-hit Fulham - on Saturday, moving six clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table thanks to one of their most free-flowing displays in recent memory.

Furthermore, only one of the Gunners' last 15 UEFA home games against Spanish clubs has ended in defeat - a 2-0 loss to Barcelona in the 2015-16 last 16 - and it has been just over six months since Arsenal hit Atletico for four without reply in the league phase.

That 4-0 hammering sparked a revival for this week's visitors, who immediately won seven matches on the spin in all tournaments to elevate their La Liga title credentials, but another trophyless season awaits if Simeone's men cannot correct their Emirates errors.

Atletico have already suffered Copa del Rey final heartbreak at the hands of Real Sociedad and have little on the line domestically, having already secured a top-four finish in La Liga while Barcelona close in on the title.

Simeone could therefore afford to make a full 11 changes for Saturday's top-flight trip to Valencia, but even Atletico's B team - albeit one reinforced by Koke and Antoine Griezmann in the second half - ran out 2-0 winners.

Matching Arsenal's win-draw-win sequence across their last three games, Los Rojiblancos have rediscovered that winning feeling at the right time following a shocking springtime run, which saw them suffer seven losses from eight games between March 18 and April 22.

Atletico have also progressed from six of their previous 10 European two-legged ties when drawing the first leg at home, and a Puskas Arena battle with Bayern Munich of Paris Saint-Germain will await Simeone's side - who also overcame Arsenal in the 2017-18 Europa League semis - if they can break red and white hearts again.

Arsenal Champions League form:

Arsenal form (all competitions):

Atletico Madrid Champions League form:

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

Team News

Running the show with a goal and assist in the first half against Fulham, Bukayo Saka was then withdrawn during the break, but the 24-year-old's withdrawal was simply precautionary with Tuesday's match in mind.

Arteta is also keeping his fingers crossed that Martin Odegaard (knee) and Kai Havertz (muscle) will be passed fit for Tuesday's match, but Jurrien Timber (groin) and Mikel Merino (foot) will watch on helplessly.

Myles Lewis-Skelly excelled in midfield during a rare start on Saturday, but a well-rested Martin Zubimendi will no doubt be restored to the starting lineup, and the same goes for Piero Hincapie over Riccardo Calafiori at left-back.

Meanwhile, Atletico suffered a major scare in the first leg when Alvarez hobbled off in the second half, but examinations have ruled out a serious injury for the Argentine, who is expected to lead the line in North London.

Alvarez incredibly broke a Lionel Messi record in the first leg, when he became the quickest Argentine to hit the 25-goal mark in the Champions League, doing so in 41 games; the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner needed 42.

Giuliano Simeone, Marcos Llorente, Alexander Sorloth and Hancko were also spared at the weekend, but Jose Gimenez (unspecified) is more of a doubt, while Pablo Barrios (thigh) and Nico Gonzalez (thigh) are absent.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Rice, Zubimendi; Saka, Eze, Trossard; Gyokeres

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Lookman; Alvarez, Griezmann

We say: Arsenal 2-1 Atletico Madrid (Arsenal win 3-2 on aggregate)

Arsenal were in no position to do an Atletico and rest 11 players against Fulham, but the Gunners could arguably be better for it, as Saka got 45 excellent minutes into his legs and Viktor Gyokeres bagged a morale-boosting brace.

Faced with an Atletico side renowned for a leaky defence away from home, having conceded at least twice in seven of their last 10 games on the road, Arteta's revitalised attack can fire the Gunners into the Champions League final.

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