Winless Valencia will hope to register their first win when they hit the road to square up against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the new season when they host winless Valencia at the Estadio Civitas Metropolitano on Sunday night.
The home team have had a mixed start to the new season. They have played out disappointing draws against Villarreal and Espanyol and have secured wins over Girona and Athletic Club. While they dominated the proceedings against the Catalan club, they had to dig deep to win against the Basque outfit.
Valencia have had a nightmare start to the new season. Los Che lost each of their first three league games against Barcelona, Celta Vigo and Athletic Club. While they have been far from their best, the visitors managed to put an end to their losing streak with a 1-1 draw against Villarreal last time out.
They did enough to secure all three points, but they were not clinical enough in the final third of the pitch. The game against Atletico Madrid will be another major challenge for Valencia, but they will hope to give it their all in search of all three points. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Atletico Madrid
Pablo Barrios is out injured with a muscle tear in his leg for the home team, while Reinildo Mandava, who picked up a shin injury during the international break, is expected to be fit in time for this outing.
Jan Oblak. who missed their last outing because of illness will return to the starting XI as Diego Simeone, is expected to stick to the 3-4-2-1 formation. In the heart of the defence, Robin Le Normand will start alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Cesar Azpilicueta. The back three will aim for their fourth consecutive clean sheet, and they will receive some support from Marcos Llorente and Samuel Lino who will feature as the wing-backs.
In the centre of the park, Rodrigo De Paul will start alongside Koke. The duo will look to control the tempo and ensure they dominate possession. Star forward Antoine Griezmann will start alongside Conor Gallagher a touch further up the pitch.
The duo will be the creative force behind Alexander Sorloth who is expected to be leading the line. Julian Alvarez will most likely make an appearance off the bench.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Oblak; Le Normand, Gimenez, Azpilicueta; Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Griezmann, Gallagher; Sorloth
Valencia
Rafa Mir has been suspended by the club after he was arrested over sexual assault allegations. Apart from him, Jaume Domenech, Mouctar Diakhaby, Hugo Duro and Jose Gaya are all unavailable for this fixture. Dani Gomez who broke his nose earlier this month could be in for his first start of the season.
The visitors will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal. Thierry Correia and Jesus Vazquez will feature as the full-back,s while Cesar Tarrega will pair up with Cristhian Mosquera in the heart of the defence.
Hugo Guillamon and Pepelu will form the double pivot in midfield. The duo will shield the backline and look to provide a base for their forwards to go and express themselves. Diego López and Luis Rioja will start out wide on the flanks, while Andre Almeida will take charge as the attacking midfielder. Dani Gomez will spearhead the Valencia attack against Atletico Madrid.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Correia, Mosquera, Tarrega, Vazquez; Guillamon, Pepelu; Lopez, Almeida, Rioja; Gomez
Key Stats
- Valencia have only managed a point out of their first four league games of the season as they remain winless.
- Atletico Madrid are unbeaten so far with two wins and two draws.
- Diego Simeone’s team have recorded three clean sheets in a row.
- Atletico Madrid have kept a clean sheet in their last two outings against Valencia (3-0 win in March 2023 & 2-0 in January 2024).
- Valencia have avoided defeat just once in their previous nine away games against Atletico Madrid.
Player to Watch
Conor Gallagher
Gallagher was one of the standout players for Chelsea last season. The midfield star contributed towards 16 goals in his 50 outings. Since joining Atletico Madrid, he has only been on the pitch for 102 minutes in his two outings. The 24-year-old is yet to showcase his true self, and this fixture against Valencia could be an opportunity for him to get going at Atletico Madrid.
Prediction
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Valencia
Valencia are winless so far in the 2024/25 season, while Atletico Madrid have been unbeaten, which will unlikely change after 90 minutes of footballing action between the two clubs on Sunday.
Los Rojiblancos have a dominating head-to-head record against their visitors of late, and they are expected to come out on top with ease. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Diego Simeone and his charges.