Atletico Madrid set sights on Europa League semis

Madrid  :  Atletico Madrid aim to take a big step towards the semifinals of the Europa League on Thursday when they entertain Sporting Club de Portugal in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

The last surviving Spanish club in the Europa League aims to fill the 80,000 capacity Wanda for the game and tickets are on sale at low prices, with just 6,000 left to sell by Wednesday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.

Coach Diego Simeone will have fewer problems in fielding a side than he had for the weekend's 1-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna, when he had just 13 first-team players available.

Antoine Griezmann is likely to start after being suspended in the domestic competition, while right backs Juanfran and Vrsaljko should be available after training with the rest of their teammates on Tuesday, although Jose Gimenez, who was injured during the last international break, has not recovered from his muscle problem.

One issue for Atletico is that Sunday afternoon sees them visit local rivals Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, but with Atletico nine points behind La Liga leaders FC Barcelona with just 8 games left in the season, Simeone will probably not be holding anything back on Thursday, which offers a more realistic chance of winning a trophy.

Sporting travel to Spain likely to field their strongest possible side with central midfielder William Carvalho available after not being risked against Braga at the weekend.

Sporting boss Jorge Jesus will no doubt be warning over the need for control in Madrid given that six of his side (Coentrao, Bruno Fernandes, Battaglia, Gleson, Acuna and Bas Dosi) are just one yellow card off suspension and a booking would see them miss next week's return leg in Lisbon.