Atletico Madrid will be bidding to make it three straight wins in all competitions when they resume their La Liga campaign at home to Mallorca on Saturday night.
Diego Simeone's side, who are fourth in the table, beat Villarreal 3-1 in Spain's top flight before the international break, while 17th-placed Mallorca suffered a 2-0 loss to Real Betis in their last match.
Match preview
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Atletico have won nine, drawn one and lost two of their 12 league matches this season to collect 28 points, which has left them in fourth spot in the table, six points behind the leaders Girona.
The Red and Whites are in a strong position, though, as they have a game in hand on 16 of the other 19 teams in the division and sit only four points off Real Madrid in second, so Simeone's side are very much in the title picture at this stage of the campaign.
Atletico suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to Las Palmas in La Liga at the start of November, but they bounced back impressively in the Champions League, putting six unanswered goals past Celtic, before beating Villarreal 3-1 in the league before the international break.
The capital outfit are yet to secure their spot in the last-16 stage of the Champions League, but they are top of Group E on eight points, one clear of second-placed Lazio and two ahead of third-placed Feyenoord.
Atletico will be bidding to qualify for the knockout round when they head to Feyenoord next week, before the small matter of a trip to La Liga champions Barcelona in the first weekend of December.
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Mallorca have made an underwhelming start to the campaign, only picking up nine points from their first 12 league games, which has left them in 17th position in the table.
The Pirates finished up in ninth spot in Spain's top flight last term, but consistency has been a real problem during the 2023-24 campaign, only managing one win in the league, which came away to Celta Vigo in the middle of September.
Since the 1-0 success in Vigo, Mallorca have drawn four and lost three of their seven league games, including a 2-0 reverse to Real Betis before the international break.
Javier Aguirre's side have found it difficult to score regularly this term, only managing 12 in their 12 matches, which is the third-worst record behind Cadiz (10), Alaves (11) and Las Palmas (11).
Eight of those goals have come from Vedat Muriqi and Abdon Prats, and Mallorca certainly need attacking contributions from elsewhere if they are to navigate their way through a tough spell, which has left them just two points outside of the relegation zone.
Team News
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Atletico will again be without the services of Memphis Depay, Thomas Lemar, Vitolo and Reinildo, while Rodrigo Riquelme faces a late fitness test on a muscular problem.
Head coach Simeone will need to assess the players who have been away with their countries during the international break, but there have not been any reports at this stage of any further injury issues.
Samuel Lino is expected to be introduced as the left-sided wing-back for this match, but there will not be any change to the attack, with in-form duo Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata set to play as the front two.
As for Mallorca, Muriqi is on the sidelines until next month due to an ankle problem, while Omar Mascarell is suspended following his red card against Real Betis last time out.
Muriqi's spot in the final third of the field is set to be taken by Prats, with Cyle Larin, who is yet to score in La Liga this season, also featuring in the front two.
Samu Costa and Antonio Sanchez should again operate in midfield, with Sergi Darder being introduced for the absent Mascarell, while it is likely that head coach Aguirre will again select a back five for this weekend's clash at Wanda Metropolitano.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Koke, Saul, Lino; Morata, Griezmann
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Gonzalez, Valjent, Raillo, Nastasic, Costa; A Sanchez, Darder, Costa; Larin, Prats
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Mallorca
Mallorca are capable of making this a tricky match, with the visitors drawing half of their league games this season. Atletico are so strong at home, though, and we are expecting them to record their 10th league victory of the campaign this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
