Atletico Madrid will be aiming to secure second place when they
welcome Real Valladolid to the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday
afternoon.Atleti may mathematically still be in contention for the
title, but it would take a slip up of extraordinary proportions for
Barcelona not to be crowned champions at this stage.
However, Diego Simeone will be expecting his team to continue fighting,
and to show the sort of flair and creativity that saw them put three
past an obstinate Valencia side on Thursday night.
Real Valladolid by comparison have absolutely everything to play for.
The Albivioletas currently sit precariously in 17th place, only one
point above the drop zone, and will be scrapping and clawing for every
single point in their last few games of the season.
Atletico's defensive injury woes have been well documented this season,
with Simeone rarely able to field the same back four week in week out,
making their current record of conceding the least amount of goals in La
Liga even more impressive. One of the few constants in that back four
has been Jose Giminez, who Atleti will be desperate to get back in the
starting lineup after he missed out on Thursday night with a toe injury.
Fans of Los Colchoneros will also be hoping that Simeone perseveres with
Thomas Lemar, whose last two performances have been what the Atleti
faithful were hoping for when he arrived in the summer.For Real
Valladolid the best that can be said is there are no new injury concerns
ahead of Saturday's clash, and Sergio Gonzalez Soriano will be looking
to field the same team that has picked up five points in their last
three games.
Valladolid will arrive at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium full of
belief, confidence, and determination, after their recent results. In
the midst of a fight for their lives, they will undoubtedly come here
looking for a result and looking to score. Unfortunately, this could
well leave them exposed at the back, and Atleti's front three of Lemar,
Griezmann, and Morata are in frightening form.