'Quite inconsistent' - What to make of Atletico Madrid ahead of Manchester United clash - Inside Europe

Trying to gauge the form of Atletico Madrid is a bit of a guessing game ahead of their crucial Champions League round-of-16 tie with Manchester United. Diego Simeone's side looked a shadow of their normal self when losing four of six games in all competitions before bouncing back with a resounding 3-0 win over Osasuna this weekend where they looked back to their best.

Ad/> So which version of Atletico will show up for Wednesday's first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano? And with the Spanish league title already out of reach for the defending champions, what can we expect from Atletico in the Champions League? Champions League'Some people will think I’m stupid' – Shaw outlines Man United’s Champions League hopesYESTERDAY AT 11:02 We asked Felix Martin of Eurosport Spain to explain what's going on with Simeone's team at the moment. WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF ATLETICO'S RECENT STRUGGLES? Having won the Spanish league title last year, Atletico are now fifth in the table and struggling just to get into the Champions League places for next season.

They also lost in both the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey in January, and fell to a humiliating home defeat to last-placed Levante last week. So what is going on? «Atleti's season has been quite inconsistent so far, so it isn't easy to predict how they are at the moment,» says Martin.

«But I'm not sure their performances in La Liga will carry over to the Champions League since we all know that it is completely different competition and the team will be very motivated. To me, Atlético Madrid has a serious chance to be in the quarterfinals because from what I've seen of Manchester United this season, they've been quite inconsistent as well.