Valencia will look to make it five wins in a row in the league when they square up against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid haven’t been at their best in the 2023/24 season, they have surely produced a few absolutely sensational performances but they haven’t been consistent enough and now they are all set to host Valencia who have been on fire of late.
Simeone’s men are currently fourth in the league with 41 points out of their 20 matches. They have already lost five matches this term and are 11 points behind league leaders Girona. While they do have a game in hand, they need to put together a winning streak to stand a chance of winning the league.
They have won each of their last three matches in all competitions and are heading into this fixture on the back of a 1-0 win over Sevilla in the quarter-final of the Copa del Rey. They were the dominant team and they did get the desired result.
As far as Valencia are concerned, they didn’t really start the 2023/24 season in the best possible way. But, they have managed to put together a string of good results and are currently 7th on the points table with 32 points out of their 21 matches.
They have won a total of nine matches so far and four of those wins have come in their last five outings. The visitors are heading into this one on the back of a 1-0 win over Athletic Club. They were not the dominant team out there but they did manage to get the desired result.
It is expected to be a closely fought encounter between two quality teams. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the two squads and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone’s team will be without the services of Cesar Azpilicueta and Thomas Lemar. They don’t really have any fresh injury concerns and we could see the same XI that started in their last outing. The only change could be the return of Marcos Llorente to the starting XI.
The home team will stick to the 3-5-2 formation where Jan Oblak will be in goal. The back three will be made up of Axel Witsel, Jose Gimenez and Mario Hermoso. The trio will look for a clean sheet and they will have the support of Nahuel Molina and Samuel Lino who will feature as the wingbacks.
Llorente will start alongside Koke and Rodrigo De Paul in the centre of the park. The trio will look to ensure they have the majority of the ball and they are the ones dictating the pace here.
As far as the attack is concerned, Memphis Depay would love to get a start but that is unlikely to happen given the kind of form Alvaro Morata and Antoine Greizmann have been in.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Hermoso; Molina, Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Morata, Griezmann
Valencia
The visitors will be without the services of Andre Almeida and Sergi Canos who are out injured. Meanwhile, they will also have to cope with the absence of Selim Amallah and Mouctar Diakhaby as the duo are out on international duty.
Valencia will start in a 4-4-2 formation where Giorgi Mamardashvili will take charge in goal. Dimitri Foulquier and Jose Gaya will be the full-backs. Meanwhile, in the heart of the defence, Cristhian Mosquera will start alongside Gabriel Paulista.
Fran Perez and Javi Guerra will provide the width to their attack, they will also look to help out the full-backs if needed. Hugo Guillamon and Pepelu will feature in a more central role, they will look to ensure they don’t allow Atletico Madrid midfielders to boss the game.
As far as their attack is concerned, Hugo Duro will feature alongside Diego Lopez up top.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Mosquera, Paulista, Gaya; F Perez, Guillamon, Pepelu, Guerra; Duro, D Lopez
Key Stats
- Atletico Madrid have won 22 out of the last 53 matches against Valencia, who only has 14 wins to their name,
- The Madrid-based club lost the reverse fixture 3-0 earlier in the season, that was their first defeat against them after 17 matches in the league.
- Valencia haven’t managed to defeat Atletico Madrid in their last 12 away games.
- After failing to win in 21 away matches from teams against Madrid in the league, Valencia did break the curse by winning against Rayo Vallecano.
- Valencia have won each of their last four league and will be eager to make it five in a row.
Player to Watch
Antoine Greizmann
Greizmann is one of the best players in La Liga at this point in time. He has been a consistent performer for Diego Simeone’s team and he will expect the French international to deliver yet again.
He has featured in 20 league matches this season and has contributed towards 15 goals. The 32-year-old has found the back of the net on 11 occasions and has bagged four assists. The former Barcelona star has scored four goals in his four league outings and he will look to add to it.
Prediction
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Valencia
While Atletico do have more quality in their squad when compared to Valencia, their recent form isn’t that great. Meanwhile, the visitors have won each of their last four league games and they have been playing a lot of quality football. As a result, they will surely make life difficult for Simeone’s team but eventually, they might still come out on top. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for the home team.