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Atletico Madrid host Arsenal in the first leg of a two-game battle to reach the Champions League final.
In the aftermath of Paris Saint-Germain's freewheeling 5-4 win over Bayern Munich, the prospect of these traditionally more circumspect sides facing one another swiftly became internet meme fodder.
Yet this is unquestionably an intriguing tie in its own right. Arsenal finished top of the league phase in this season's Champions League and remain undefeated in the competition, but have slipped in form over the past few months and feel more vulnerable than ever.
Atletico, one of the highest-scoring Champions League sides in their own right, are aiming to give star attacker Antoine Griezmann a dream send-off before his departure to Orlando City and the France international's final Champions League appaerance at the Metropolitano is sure to be an emotional occasion.
The Sporting News is following Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal live, providing score updates and commentary.
MORE: A full breakdown of all the crazy stats and records challenged in the wild PSG vs. Bayern Munich match
Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal score
Venue: Metropolitano, Madrid
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Predicted lineups:
Atletico (4-4-2, right to left): Oblak (GK) — Molina, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri — Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Gonzalez — Griezmann, Alvarez
Arsenal (4-3-3 right to left): Raya (GK) — Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori — Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice — Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal live updates, highlights, and commentary
2 hours before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal in the semifinals of the Champions League. All set for another nine-goal thriller?
Preview today's match with predictions, picks, stats, team news, and more from The Sporting News here.
Yesterday, we went 3-for-3 in our Champions League semifinal picks.
Today, Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal represents a completely different matchup, but not quite the way most people have framed it.
Read my preview here, with predictions, stats, and morehttps://t.co/OPe3vcAeWO
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) April 29, 2026
Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal kick off time
This Champions League match kicks off in Madrid, Spain at 9.p.m local time.
Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:
Date Kickoff time
USA/Canada Wed, Apr. 29 3 p.m. ET
USA/Canada Wed, Apr. 29 12 p.m. PT
UK Wed, Apr. 29 8 p.m. BST
Australia Thu, Apr. 30 7 a.m. AEST
India Thu, Apr. 30 1:30 a.m. IST
Head-to-Head: Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal
The most recent clash between these two sides came in this season's league phase, when Arsenal hammered Atletico 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
This is just the fourth time that the two sides have faced off against each other with the other two games coming in the semi-finals of the 2017/18 Europa League. Los Rojiblancos winning that tie 2-1 on aggregate.
Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal team news
Atletico Madrid
Atletico are dealing with a big issue in attack as they are missing Ademola Lookman, who has been excellent since his move from Serie A side Atalanta in January.
At the back, versatile Slovakia international defender David Hancko is also unavailable alongside Jose Maria Gimenez, who is racing to be fit for Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay at this summer’s World Cup.
Midfielder Pablo Barrios is sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Arsenal
Bukayo Saka came off the bench at the weekend and whether or not to start the England star is perhaps Arteta's biggest pre-match quandry.
Riccardo Calafiori is set to return in defence, although Netherlands international Jurrien Timber remains out.
Both Eberechi Eze and Kai Havertz were also forced off through injury against Newcastle. Eze is thought to be fine to play against Atleti, although Havertz faces a late check.
Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenallive stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions:
Region TV Streaming
USA CBS Paramount+, Fubo
Canada — DAZN
UK TNT Sports 1 HBO Max
Australia — Stan Sport
India Sony TEN 2, 3 and 4 Sony LIV, JioTV