Atletico Madrid will be bidding to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they welcome basement side Elche to Wanda Metropolitano on Thursday night.
Diego Simeone's side are currently fifth in the La Liga table, boasting 24 points from their opening 14 matches, while Elche are bottom of the division, having only picked up four points this season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Atletico have only picked up one point from their last three La Liga matches, losing to both Cadiz and Mallorca, in addition to being held at home by Espanyol, with their last victory coming away to Real Betis on October 23.
Simeone's team have dropped down to fifth position in the table, only two points behind third-placed Real Sociedad, but they are 13 points behind leaders Barcelona, with the capital outfit not in a title race this term.
Atletico have managed to record two wins since their last league games against Mallorca, with both victories coming in the Copa del Rey - 2-0 against Almazan on November 12 and 3-1 over Arenteiro on December 22.
The Red and Whites will be targeting glory in the Copa del Rey this season, as they will not have European football in the second half of the campaign, having finished bottom of their Champions League group behind Porto, Club Brugge and Bayer Leverkusen.
Atletico's failure to continue in Europe has led to financial problems, with a number of their players being linked with January exits, and it is absolutely vital that the team manage to navigate their way to a top-four finish in La Liga this term, as a campaign out of the Champions League would be a huge blow both on and off the field.
© Reuters
Elche will not be in the mood to hand out any favours to Atletico on Thursday, as a total of four points from 14 matches has left them bottom of the table, already eight points from the safety of 17th position.
The strugglers are yet to win a single league game this term, while they have lost their last three in Spain's top flight to Getafe, Real Valladolid and Girona.
Pablo Machin became Elche's third manager of the season in the middle of November, with the 47-year-old given the task of overseeing what would be a great escape considering their spot in the table.
Los Franjiverdes are certainly better than what they have shown this season, and they are in their third straight campaign at this level, which is their best run since the late 1970s.
Elche suffered a 1-0 defeat to Atletico in the corresponding match between the two sides last term, while they have lost their last eight La Liga games against the capital giants, which is an indication of the size of their task heading into Thursday's contest in Madrid.
Team News
© Reuters
Atletico could have Rodrigo De Paul, Nahuel Molina, Angel Correa and Antoine Griezmann available for this match following their involvement in the World Cup final.
Griezmann could return to partner Alvaro Morata in the final third of the field, with Simeone set to make changes to the side that started in the Copa del Rey last time out.
Pablo Barrios and Thomas Lemar could drop out of the starting XI, but the same back three could remain in place, with Mario Hermoso potentially keeping his spot alongside Stefan Savic and Jose Gimenez.
As for Elche, John Donald and Jony Alamo will miss the contest due to leg and knee injuries respectively.
The visitors will be hopeful that Josan can shake off a muscular problem to feature in a wide area, while Pere Milla, Alex Collado and Raul Guti should also all start.
Lucas Boye has only scored one league goal this season, but the 26-year-old is expected to get the nod at the tip of the attack for the league's basement side.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Gimenez, Savic, Hermoso; Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Witsel, Carrasco; Morata, Griezmann
Elche possible starting lineup:
Badia; Lirola, Roco, Gonzalez, Clerc; Mascarell, Guti; Josan, Collado, Milla; Boye
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Elche
Atletico have had their issues this season, and they lost to both Cadiz and Mallorca ahead of the break for the World Cup. Elche have really struggled during the 2022-23 campaign, though, and we are finding it difficult to predict anything other than a comfortable home success here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
