Atletico Madrid are favourites for the Europa League title this season, according to Lokomotiv Moscow defender Nemanja Pejcinovic.
The Russian club visit the Wanda Metropolitano on Thursday evening in the first leg of their last 16 clash in the competition.
“They are the favourites, not just for this game but for the competition,” Pejcinovic told his pre-match press conference.
“Atletico are the strongest team in the Europa League, they have the best team and one of the best tacticians, but we will motivate ourselves to play them.
“We know what we are going up against, the quality that they have and we have studied their style of play heavily.
“They have the best strike-force in Europe and will need to utilise our plan to combat them.”
