After the wins against PSV in Eindhoven and Bayern Munich at the Calderón, Atlético de Madrid closes the first round of the group stage in Russia against Rostov, a team that has won a point after losing in Munich and tying against PSV at the Olimp 2, the venue of the game this week.

It will be the first time that a Spanish team plays against Rostov, while Atlético de Madrid has played seven games against Russian teams, with three wins, two ties and two defeats. The last match we played against a Russian club was in the Champions League, when we played Zenit, with a red and white win in Madrid (3-1) and a tie in Saint Petersburg (1-1). Our rival has not lost in the Champions in its stadium this season (2-2 against PSV, 2-2 against Anderlecht and won 4-1 against Ajax), in addition to accumulating 26 consecutive games without losing at home in all competitions, which speaks of its strength at the Olimp-2.

Simeone has travelled with 19 players, among whom the presence of Saúl stands out, since he was absent against Granada due to an injury. Coincidentally, in Rostov we find an Iranian player, Saeid Ezatolahi, who played in our Academy in the 2014/15 season.