Preview: Atletico Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen

Diego Simeone's side welcome travelling Bayer Leverkusen to the Vicente Calderon in the last 16 of the Champions League with the hosts looking to overturn a 1-0 disadvantage from the first leg.

Roger Schmidt's men were able to grab a slender lead in the encounter, thanks to a solitary effort from Hakan Calhanoglu at the BayerArena.

Domestic omens do not scream too much success for Madrid ahead of the fixture, given that they were held to their third consecutive draw at the hands of Espanyol in La Liga over the weekend.

Simeone's charges have only twice been able to turn around a 1-0 deficit in the leading European showpiece, but they do boast an incredibly impressive accumulation of results on home turf when featuring in Europe.

As it stands, Atletico have put together 20 wins in their last 22 European games at the Calderon.

Meanwhile, Bayer will be going into the game full of confidence following an impressive 4-0 demolition of lowly Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Friday.

Schmidt's side are enjoying a period of good form that has seen them win four games on the bounce; a march of progress that began with their crucial 1-0 win over Madrid at the back end of February.

The Rhine-Westphalian outfit will be confident of a result, especially given the form of Josip Drmic, who recently grabbed a brace against Stuttgart, and midfielder Calhanoglu, who has reportedly attracted the interest of Catalan giants Barcelona.

Looking at overall form over the past six games across all competitions, Bayer are clearly in the driving seat.

Leverkusen have won five and drawn one, while Madrid have put together one victory, two defeats and three draws.

Bayer have no major injury concerns ahead of the fixture, but they will be hoping that Calhanoglu can keep his fitness having only recently returned from a knee problem.

Leverkusen could be without box-to-box midfielder Lars Bender, though, as he continues to suffer from an ankle issue and has missed his side's last three matches.

Madrid have a few issues going into the game. They'll be missing both Diego Godin and Tiago Mendes through suspension, but could see the return of Cristian Ansaldi, who was an unused substitute against Espanyol at the weekend.

One major boost comes in the form of Koke's inevitable return, with the playmaker missing the opening leg with a hamstring complaint.

Atletico Madrid:

Form in Champions League: WWWWDL Form in all competitions: LWLDDD

Possible starting lineup: Moya; Juanfran, Ansaldi, Miranda, Gamez, Gabi, Tiago, Koke, Garcia, Griezmann, Torres

Bayer Leverkusen:

Form in Champions League: WWWLDW Form in all competitions: DWWWWW

Possible starting lineup: Leno; Hilbert, Toprak, Papadopoulos, Wendell, Rolfes, Castro, Bellarabi, Son, Calhanoglu, Drmic

Sports Mole says: 2-1