Real Madrid's key Champions League battles include Pepe vs. Griezmann

1. Pepe vs. Antoine Griezmann

Even though the Frenchman moves around the final third quite freely when Atletico Madrid have recovered possession, Griezmann excels when going from right to left until he finds his shot, like many other left-footed players. His goal at the Santiago Bernabeu was textbook stuff taken off the training ground: steal the ball, progress with speed, pass to Filipe Luis, wait for the ball, execute cool finish. Therefore, Griezmann should meet Daniel Carvajal (less often) but especially Pepe on his way toward Real Madrid's goal.

Fortunately for Real Madrid, the current version of Pepe is vastly superior to that of Raphael Varane from the past derby, in February. In the past six weeks, Pepe has recovered his place on the starting XI and looks faster and more focused, and is resorting less and less to fouling and therefore (fingers crossed) less likely to be sent off.

That said, Griezmann has played some of the best football of his career this season and no doubt will want to put the cherry on the sundae with a goal in the biggest match of the year. If Pepe can keep him at bay, Real Madrid will enjoy a much easier evening in Milan.

Pepe, left, has enjoyed a surge in form and could well be trusted to neutralise Atletico's key attacker.

2. Gareth Bale vs. Filipe Luis

Since he recovered from his last (or perhaps one should say most recent) muscular injury, the Welshman looks as menacing as ever in a Real Madrid shirt. Not only does he look rapid and strong, but his moves with and without the ball have more intent. There is more purpose to score.
No matter whether he needed to shoot the ball with either leg or head it home, in the final month of the season Bale has kept the goals coming: a few winners in La Liga, plus the deciding one in the semifinals of the Champions League (though the referee gave it to Fernando).

Zinedine Zidane might want Bale to switch sides with Cristiano Ronaldo a couple of times during the match, but the Welshman will likely spend most of the 90 minutes attacking Atletico's left flank. Luis, a talented player with the ball, is often underrated as a defender but he is not your typical Brazilian full-back, either. He is careful at choosing when to venture forward and offers a degree of tactical discipline that is hard to match, even at top-level clubs. Hence, Diego Simeone's trust in Luis to the degree that the Argentinean brought him back from Chelsea when it was obvious that the Brazilian wasn't enjoying his time there.

Luis can't match Bale for speed, but Atletico's defensive unit (i.e. the whole team) knows well how to limit the Welshman's impact on proceedings. No free space at their back means no time for Real's midfielders to feed Bale, and plenty of help for Luis whenever Bale gets the ball. We'll see who prevails.

3. Real's three-man midfield vs. Atletico's four-man midfield

The impact of Casemiro in Real's midfield has already been analysed in painstaking detail. A natural when defending, stealing and tackling are concerned, Casemiro's presence has allowed Toni Kroos and Luka Modric to get involved in the buildup of plays with more freedom than they had earlier in the season.
But Atletico have plenty of talent when it comes to restricting the opposition's midfield. For starters, Tiago Mendes could come back. He has impressive influence over the rest of the team and with Gabi by his side, both defensive midfielders could be enough to keep any opponent frustrated when trying to control the middle of the pitch. If Tiago is not there, Argentinean Augusto Fernandez will play, surely as consistently as he has done since he arrived from Celta in midseason.

Keylor Navas has been stunning between the posts for Real this season. Will he keep a clean sheet on Saturday?

Both hard-working and talented, Koke and Saul Niguez complete a physical midfield quartet, probably the key of Atletico's sequence of successes in late years even more than their back four. Hard work for Real Madrid's three-man line that will need all the support possible from the front three.

Finally, back to Casemiro. The Brazilian will likely suffer one of Simeone's favourite defensive gimmicks: let the least talented player from the opposition enjoy the ball as often as possible, without marking directly. I'm fairly certain we shall see plenty of both Casemiro and Pepe having the ball unmarked on Saturday. Atletico's midfield will concentrate on keeping Kroos and Modric quiet while they wait for the occasion to feed Griezmann or Fernando Torres.

4. Keylor Navas vs. Jan Oblak

Atletico's keeper has indeed earned the right to be considered the best in La Liga this term. Eighteen goals conceded in 38 matches is a telling number, but one that can only be fully understood by watching this video of his saves this season. Oblak has played an equally high level for all these nine months that no other keeper could compete for the title.

Except for a slight slump in form in the middle of the season, Navas has also played at a very high level. The fact that Real were alive in the title fight until the last match of the season can be put down to his performances and those of Ronaldo. In a match likely to have a low number of scoring chances (only three goals were scored in their two La Liga contests in 2015-16), the keepers will be key. And if both manage to maintain their form of late, we could head to extra time and penalty kicks.