Atletico Madrid will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in Spain's top flight when they resume their domestic campaign away to basement side Almeria on Saturday evening.
Diego Simeone's side are currently fourth in the La Liga table, two points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, while Almeria sit 20th, 12 points from the safety of 17th position with 13 games left.
Match preview
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Almeria only just survived relegation from La Liga last season, finishing 17th on the final matchday of the campaign, but it is going to take some effort for the team to avoid dropping into the Segunda Division for the 2024-25 campaign.
La Union are still waiting for their first league win of the season, with a record of eight draws and 17 losses from 25 games bringing them eight points, which has left UDA rooted to the bottom of the division.
Gaizka Garitano's side were ahead against Granada in a bottom-of-the-table contest last weekend, with Marc Pubill making the breakthrough, but the team in 19th position levelled in the 75th minute, meaning that Almeria's wait for their first league success of the campaign goes on.
La Union have picked up six of their eight league points this season at home, which is a positive to take into this match, and they will be the fresher of the two teams, as Atletico were in Champions League action on Tuesday.
Almeria also held Atletico to a 1-1 draw when the two teams locked horns in the corresponding match during the 2022-23 campaign, while they only narrowly lost (2-1) to the capital side at Wanda Metropolitano earlier this season.
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Atletico, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash, with Marko Arnautovic scoring the game's only goal in the 79th minute.
Simeone's side have work to do in both the Champions League and Copa del Rey if they are to progress, with the Red and Whites also trailing 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao after the first leg of their semi-final in the Spanish Cup.
Atletico have actually lost three of their last four matches in all competitions during a difficult run, but they did manage to record a 5-0 victory over Las Palmas in the league last time out.
The capital outfit have a record of 16 wins, three draws and six defeats from their 25 league matches this season to collect 51 points, which has left them in fourth position in the table.
Simeone's side are only two points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic, but they sit just three points from Barcelona in third, and a top-three finish in Spain's top flight, in addition to a trophy, would go down as a successful campaign for the club.
Team News
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Almeria will be without the services of Cesar Montes on Saturday due to a knee problem, while Iddrisu Baba, Luis Suarez and Ibrahima Kone remain injury doubts.
The basement side will be boosted by the return of Largie Ramazani following a suspension, though, and he is expected to come into the side for this match.
Head coach Garitano will have been pleased with his team's performance against Granada, so there are unlikely to be many changes, and there is a hope that Baba will be able to shake off a minor issue to retain his spot in midfield.
Atletico suffered two injury issues against Inter on Tuesday evening, with Jose Gimenez forced off in the first half due to muscular discomfort, while Antoine Griezmann suffered a sprained ankle.
Griezmann is now set for a spell on the sidelines, while Cesar Azpilicueta and Thomas Lemar also remain unavailable for selection for the capital outfit, who will make a late check on Gimenez.
Simeone will make changes from the side that started in the Champions League, with Stefan Savic, Alvaro Morata and Angel Correa potentially coming in, while there could be a first start for Arthur Vermeeren following his arrival at the club in the winter transfer window.
Almeria possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Pubill, E Gonzalez, Radovanovic, Langa; Baba, Robertone; Arribas, Ramazani, Embarba; Lozano
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Savic, Hermoso, Lino; De Paul, Koke, Vermeeren; Morata, Correa
We say: Almeria 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Almeria are certainly capable of making this a difficult match for Atletico, especially as they held Athletic to a goalless draw in their last match on home soil. Atletico will also be without their star player in Griezmann, but we believe that Simeone's side will still have enough quality to secure an important three points on Saturday.
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