Atletico Madrid vs Alaves Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Atletico Madrid will look to maintain their eight-match unbeaten run when they host Alaves, who have been winless in their last six outings.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have been on fire ahead of the clash with Alaves. They have won their last five league games and will look to make it six in a row on Sunday. Meanwhile, the visitors have not had the best of times of late. They last won a league game on the 2nd of September and have been winless since.

The Colchoneros are currently fourth on the points table with 22 points out of their nine games. They are six points behind league leaders Girona with two games in hand. Simeone’s team have the second-best defence (eight goals conceded) and attack (23 goals scored) in the league.

They are in red hot form, and stopping them won’t be easy for the visitors. Los Rojiblancos are heading into this fixture on the back of a 2-2 draw against Celtic in the Champions League. It was not the best of outings for them, and they will surely look to put up a much better performance against Alaves.

The visitors are 15th on the points table. All they have managed are nine points in their 10 outings, and they have lost half of their fixture so far this season. Alaves have not won any of their last six league games, and they desperately need to return to winning ways or things could go from bad to worse in a matter of few weeks.

Alaves head into this fixture on the back of a 1-1 draw against Villarreal. They did not have much of the ball but managed to create enough chances. However, they were not really at their best in the final third.

Against Atletico Madrid, Alaves won’t have much of the ball and will have to be clinical in the final third if they want to get something out of that game. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.

Team News & Tactics

Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone will be without the services of Samuel Lino, Jose Gimenez, Memphis Depay, Thomas Lemar, Vitolo and Reinildo. The Argentine manager is expected to make a few changes to the XI that took the field against Celtic, but he will stick to the 3-5-2 formation.

Jan Oblak will continue in goal. Meanwhile, the back three will be made up of Stefan Savic, Axel Witsel and Mario Hermoso. They will have the support of the wing-backs Nahuel Molina and Marcos Llorente.

Molina and Llorente will look to join the attack at every possible opportunity. But their priority will be to ensure they do not leave too much space in the wide areas for the opposition attackers. In the centre of the park, Pablo Barrios will return to the XI and pair up with Koke and Rodrigo De Paul.

The trio will look to dictate the pace of the game and dominate possession of the ball. Finally, French international Antoine Griezmann will pair up with Alvaro Morata in the final third. The duo have been in sensational form this season and will look to carry on with the good work.

Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Oblak; Savic, Witsel, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Koke, Barrios, Llorente; Griezmann, Morata

Alaves

The visitors will be without the services of Carlos Benavidez, Giuliano Simeone and Javi Lopez. They did a decent job in their last outing against Villarreal, and Luis Garcia is expected to stick to the same XI for this fixture.

Alaves will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, where Antonio Sivera will be in goal. Andoni Gorosabel and Rubén Duarte will feature as the full-backs in this fixture. In the heart of the defence, Abdel Abqar will have the support of Aleksandar Sedlar.

The defence will look to keep a clean sheet against a team that has been scoring goals for fun of late. Meanwhile, Antonio Blanco and Ander Guevara will feature as the double pivot in the centre of the park. They will look to shield the backline and help initiate counter-attacks.

Jon Guridi will feature as the attacking midfielder and he will be the creator-in-chief for this fixture. He will have the support of Alex Sola and Luis Rioja who will feature out wide on the flanks. Samu Omorodion will be leading the line for the visitors as they look to cause an upset.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sivera; Gorosabel, Abqar, Sedlar, Duarte; Blanco, Guevara; Sola, Guridi, Rioja; Samu

Key Stats

• Atletico Madrid have the second-best attack in the league with 23 goals in just nine outings.
• Alaves have not won a game in their last six outings.
• The home team have been unbeaten in their last eight outings.
• Diego Simeone’s men have won each of their last five league games.
• Atletico Madrid have only conceded eight goals so far, and they are only behind Real Madrid, who have conceded seven goals.

Player to Watch

Alvaro Morata

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Morata has got off to a great start in the new season. He has been scoring goals for fun, and his partnership with Antoine Griezmann up top is second to none. The 31-year-old has already found the back of the net on eight occasions in his 11 outings in all competitions.

He has found the back of the net on five occasions in his eight league outings and will surely look to add to it when he takes the field against Alaves. Given his current form, the Spanish international can surely end up being the difference between the two teams.

Prediction

Atletico Madrid 2-0 Alaves

Atletico Madrid might have played out a draw in their last Champions League outing. But their recent form in the league suggests they might not have any trouble going past Alaves. Meanwhile, the visitors did put up a great fight against Villarreal in their last outing.

But, they haven’t won in their last six matches and that run might not end against a star-studded Atletico Madrid outfit. The Hard Tackle predicts an easy 2-0 win for the home team.