Atletico Madrid looks to their impressive home form to help them overcome a 1-0 first-leg deficit when they entertain Inter Milan in their Champions League last-16 return leg on Wednesday night.

Inter Milan's Henrikh Mkhitaryan (L) vies with Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 1st leg match between Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid in Milan, Italy, Feb.20, 2024. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

Although Atletico's results away from home are a huge problem for Diego Simeone's side, with their last away win against Granada on January 22, the Metropolitano Stadium has been a fortress for them with only one defeat in the last 14 months.

That loss was against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey semifinal at the start of February, but since then, Atletico has again been unbeatable in front of their fans, with league wins against Las Palmas and Real Betis.

The good news is that Antoine Griezmann will return to the starting 11 on Wednesday night, three weeks after having twisted his ankle in the first leg. That injury saw the French international miss Atletico's Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao, and Simeone preferred not to risk him in Saturday's dreadful defeat to Cadiz.

Griezmann should add goals, creativity and effort to Atletico's starting 11, with either Alvaro Morata or Memphis Depay dropping to the bench.

Simeone has to decide whether to return the out-of-sorts Nahuel Molina to play at right wing-back, or keep Manuel Llorente, who adds drive to Atletico's flank.

Inter Milan travels to Madrid in excellent form, with four wins from four games since the first leg, and the Nerazzurri have a 16-point lead at the top of Serie A.

Simone Inzaghi's side has only conceded five goals in a record-equaling 13 games in all competitions, which continued with a 1-0 win in Bologna on Saturday.

Atletico will look to a packed Metropolitano and some magic from Griezmann to end that run, but they will have to be at their best to have a chance of overturning last season's beaten finalists. 

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