Real Madrid, Atletico battle for supremacy as Arsenal meet ‘dangerous’ PSV

The Madrid derby is the pick of the day as the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 kicks off today, with the Santiago Bernabéu hosts a high-stakes first-leg clash involving Real Madrid and city rivals, Atlético Madrid, reports gulfnews.com.

Atlético Madrid arrive in red-hot form, unbeaten in their last 10 matches across all competitions (W6, D4). Diego Simeone’s side have shown their European credentials this season, finishing fifth in the group stage with six wins and scoring 20 goals – a tally bettered only by Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.   
 
However, they’ll need to overcome their recent poor record in Champions League away knockout games, having lost their last three. While Atlético carry confidence from recent H2H draws and back-to-back European wins against Real, history heavily favours Los Blancos, who have advanced in all five previous Champions League knockout ties between the two. This promises to be another enthralling chapter in their storied rivalry.
 
Elsewhere, Arsenal head to Eindhoven for their last 16 game against PSV, looking to improve their mixed record against Dutch opposition on the road. While the Gunners are unbeaten in five home meetings with PSV (W3, D2), they’ve failed to secure a win in their last four trips to face the Eredivisie side (D2, L2). Arsenal’s only away victory in this fixture came over two decades ago, a commanding 4-0 win in 2002.
 
The London side will be wary of their history at this stage of the competition, having been eliminated in seven of their last eight Champions League round-of-16 appearances. They’ll also remember PSV knocking them out at this stage back in 2006/07, a bitter defeat that adds extra stakes to this encounter.
 
PSV, meanwhile, are enduring a dip in