Atletico Madrid will be bidding to make it successive wins in Spain's top flight when they continue their campaign with a home fixture against basement side Real Valladolid on Monday night.
Diego Simeone's side are currently third in the La Liga table, three points behind second-placed Real Madrid, while Real Valladolid are rock bottom of the division, some 14 points behind 17th-placed Alaves.
Match preview
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Atletico picked up a much-needed three points against Sevilla last time out, running out 2-1 winners at Estadio Ramon, with Pablo Barrios scoring the game's deciding goal in the third minute of added time at the end of the 90.
The Red and Whites have seen their hopes of winning silverware this season fall apart in recent weeks, being knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last month, before losing to Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.
Atletico's La Liga title hopes have also taken a huge hit, with the capital side currently third in the table, seven points behind the leaders Barcelona, so it is difficult to imagine them pulling themselves back into the title picture.
Simeone's side are safe when it comes to the top four, though, sitting 12 points ahead of fifth-placed Villarreal, while they are also six points clear of fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
Atletico will also still believe that they can catch Real Madrid in second, with just three points separating the two sides, and the Red and Whites must be in a position to pounce should Barcelona drop points in the final stages of the campaign.
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As for Real Valladolid, an incredibly difficult season has left the team rock bottom of the table, with a record of four wins, four draws and 22 defeats from 30 matches bringing them only 16 points.
Alvaro Rubio's side will enter this game off the back of four straight league defeats to Valencia, Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad and Getafe, and they are some 14 points behind 17th-placed Alaves with only eight games left.
Unless something quite extraordinary happens, Real Valladolid will be playing Segunda Division football next season, and their numbers make difficult reading in terms of goals scored and goals conceded.
Indeed, the White and Violets have only found the back of the net on 19 occasions, which is the worst attacking record, while they have conceded 69, which is comfortably the worst defensive record in the division.
Real Valladolid are on a six-game losing run against Atletico in Spain's top flight, including a 5-0 reverse earlier this season, while they were beaten 3-0 by the capital team on their last trip to Wanda Metropolitano in January 2023.
Team News
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Atletico will once again be without the services of Angel Correa due to suspension, while Samuel Lino and Rodrigo De Paul are unavailable for selection due to fitness problems.
There will be a return to the squad for Jose Gimenez, though, as the centre-back has served the ban that ruled him out of the fixture with Sevilla last time out.
There are unlikely to be many changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle at Estadio Ramon, with Julian Alvarez again set to be joined by Antoine Griezmann in the final third of the field.
As for Real Valladolid, David Torres and Javi Sanchez will be back in the squad following suspensions, but Mario Martin will serve a ban after being sent off against Getafe.
Late checks will also need to be made on Karl Hein and Florian Grillitsch, with the pair missing out against Getafe last time out due to injury problems, and the expectation is that least one will again be unavailable.
Juanmi Latasa is again set to feature in the final third of the field, but there could be a change in the middle of midfield, with Anuar Tuhami potentially earning a recall into the XI on Monday night.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Gimenez, Galan; Simeone, Llorente, Barrios, Gallagher; Alvarez, Griezmann
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Ferreira; Candela, Torres, Okzacar, J Sanchez; I Sanchez, Nikitscher, Tuhami, Moro; Sylla, Latasa
We say: Atletico Madrid 3-0 Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid are heading back down to the Segunda Division, and it is incredibly difficult to imagine them picking up a positive result on Monday night; Atletico have struggled to find their best form in recent weeks, but we are still expecting the Red and Whites to have far too much for their opponents in this clash.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
