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Atletico Madrid vs Hannover 96, 20:05, Live on ITV4

Both of these sides have every reason to be confident ahead of this tie, after they crushed their respective opponents in the previous round. Atletico disposed of Besiktas 6-1 on aggregate, with promising Argentine forward Eduardo Salvio scoring three times in the tie. Atletico have played seven home games in this season's Europa League, and they have won them all. The timely return from injury of Brazilian puppet-master Diego has given extra firepower to a team that's failed to score just once in Europe this term.

Hannover drew 2-2 at Standard Liege in the first leg, before battering their Belgian opponents 4-0 at the AWD Arena, a ground where Mirko Slomka's men have lost just once all season. If Hannover are to have a chance of progressing to the semis (they are priced at a hefty 3.55 to do so), then they know they'll have to somehow grind out a result in Madrid that keeps them in the hunt ahead of the second leg.

Hannover have toughened up on their travels in recent weeks, but in general their record away from their Lower Saxony fortress is uninspiring. They have lost seven away games in the Bundesliga (including their last three), winning just two. In the Europa League they have picked up decent wins at Club Brugge and FC Copenhagen, but Atletico are in a superior class of opponent.

Atletico deserve to be firm favourites at 1.52, and it's tough to make a case for a different outcome. Since Diego Simeone grasped the reins at the Vicente Calderon, the combative Colchoneros have failed to win a home game just twice, and those matches were against top-three sides Barcelona and Valencia.

Over/under 2.5 goals

When Simeone first arrived he focused on making Atleti tough to beat, but in recent weeks he's opened things up, and three of Atleti's last four home games have featured over 2.5 goals. Hannover have plenty of attacking threats, but I have doubts about their defence against top quality attacks. Hannover have recently visited Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund, and they conceded at least twice in each match. Back over 2.5 goals at 1.78.

Atleti to fly out of the traps?

Atleti will be keen to make the most of their home advantage, and in their home leg against Besiktas they were 3-0 up in just 37 minutes. In those recent losses in Munich, Bremen and Dortmund Hannover trailed at half-time, so back Atletico/Atletico in the HT/FT market at 2.28.

Recommended Bet: Back over 2.5 goals at 1.78

Best Bet: Back Atletico/Atletico in the HT/FT market at 2.28

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