Atletico Madrid will be looking to record their fifth straight La Liga victory when they continue their 2020-21 campaign at home to Sevilla on Tuesday night.
Diego Simeone's side are currently top of the table, having picked up 38 points from their opening 15 fixtures, while Sevilla occupy sixth position, two points behind fourth-placed Villarreal.
Match preview
© Reuters
Atletico were due to play Athletic Bilbao at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday, but the contest had to be postponed due to bad weather, meaning that Simeone's team have only played 15 league games this term.
The fact that the Red and Whites have three games in hand over both Real Madrid and Barcelona but are still top is incredible; indeed, Atletico sit one point ahead of second-placed Real Madrid and four clear of third-placed Barca, which is an indication of their strength at the summit.
Los Rojiblancos have won 12, drawn two and lost one of their 15 matches, scoring 29 times and conceding just six, and they will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of four straight league victories.
Atletico suffered a shock 1-0 loss at Cornella in the Copa del Rey on January 6, although the defeat could ultimately help the capital side in their pursuit of La Liga and Champions League success.
Simeone's team, who have a crowded schedule in the coming weeks due to their postponed fixtures, have shared the points in each of their last four league games with Sevilla, but they are unbeaten in their last seven top-flight fixtures with the current Europa League holders.
© Reuters
Sevilla, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of an important 3-2 win over Real Sociedad at Estadio Ramon on Saturday, with Youssef En-Nesyri scoring all three goals for the hosts.
Julen Lopetegui's side are also on an impressive run in the league, winning four of their last six, remaining unbeaten in the process, to leave themselves in sixth position in the table.
Los Nervionenses are just two points behind fourth-placed Villarreal with two games in hand, while they are just four points off third-placed Barca, also with two matches spare over the Catalan club.
Sevilla will undoubtedly be targeting another top-four finish in La Liga this season, while they will also be looking to make an impression in the Champions League, facing Borussia Dortmund in the last-16 stage of the competition over two legs at the end of February and beginning of March.
Atletico Madrid La Liga form: WLWWWW
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions): WWWWWL
Sevilla La Liga form: WDWWDW
Sevilla form (all competitions): DWWDWW
Team News
© Reuters
Atletico will be without the services of Hector Herrera and Jose Gimenez through injury, but Stefan Savic should return to the starting XI having served a one-game suspension.
Kieran Trippier is also banned, but Simeone's side do not have any other fresh issues, and it would not be a surprise to see the bulk of the side that featured against Alaves on January 3 take to the field again.
As a result, Saul Niguez might have to accept a spot on the bench once again, but there could be a change in the final third of the field with Joao Felix potentially being given the nod over Angel Correa to start alongside Luis Suarez, who has scored nine league goals this season.
As for Sevilla, Carlos Fernandez, Sergio Escudero and Tomas Vaclik remain unavailable for selection, but the team did not pick up any fresh issues against Sociedad.
En-Nesyri's treble is likely to see the 23-year-old given the nod over Luuk de Jong through the middle once again, while Suso should again keep out Munir El Haddadi in a wide position.
Oliver Torres, Nemanja Gudelj and Oscar Rodriguez are options for change in midfield, but Lopetegui is expected to resist the temptation to make alterations, meaning that the likes of Jules Kounde, Diego Carlos, Ivan Rakitic and Lucas Ocampos should all be in the XI.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Savic, Felipe, Hermoso; Vrsaljko, Llorente, Koke, Lemar, Carrasco; Felix, Suarez
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Rakitic, Fernando, Jordan; Ocampos, En-Nesyri, Suso
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Sevilla
This has all of the makings of a very, very interesting game of football. Sevilla are certainly capable of upsetting Atletico, but it is difficult to back against Simeone's side, who have been excellent this season; we fancy the hosts to edge a tight contest, strengthening their spot at the summit in the process.
Top betting tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atletico Madrid win with a probability of 36.28%. A win for Sevilla had a probability of 36.23% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Madrid win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.89%) and 2-0 (6.51%). The likeliest Sevilla win was 0-1 (10.72%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 6.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Atletico Madrid would win this match.
