Atletico Madrid will be bidding to make it three La Liga victories in a row when they welcome an out-of-form Getafe outfit to Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday evening.
Diego Simeone's side are currently fourth in the table, three points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal, while Getafe have dropped into 19th position due to their recent struggles.
Match preview
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With no European football in the second half of the campaign, the Copa del Rey was seen as Atletico's only genuine chance to secure silverware this season, but the Red and Whites suffered a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the competition on January 26.
As a result, the team's main focus for the remainder of the campaign will be on securing a top-four finish in La Liga, and they managed to return to winning ways last time out, beating Osasuna at Estadio El Sadar courtesy of a second-half effort from Saul Niguez.
There remains speculation surrounding Simeone's future as head coach, but the Argentine will be focused on guiding the team to a top-four finish, as they are not in a title race this season, currently sitting 16 points behind leaders Barcelona on the same number of matches (19).
Atletico have picked up seven points from their last three league games, but they are only three points clear of sixth-placed Real Betis, so the capital outfit are far from comfortable in the top four.
The Red and Whites have actually struggled at home this season, only picking up 14 points from nine matches, which is far from a dominant record, with five visiting teams avoiding defeat at Wanda Metropolitano in La Liga during the 2022-23 campaign.
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Getafe ended 2022 with a 2-0 victory over Mallorca, but it was an unhappy January for the club, as they suffered four straight league defeats to Sevilla, Espanyol, Barcelona and Real Betis.
Head coach Quique Sanchez Flores will have been able to take some encouragement from the performances against Barcelona and Real Betis, though, as Getafe only lost both games 1-0 to two of the best six sides in the division, according to the league table at least.
The Deep Blue Ones are currently 19th in the division on 17 points, boasting a record of four wins, five draws and 10 defeats from their 19 league matches this season.
However, the capital side are only three points from the safety of 17th position, so it is not quite time to hit the panic button despite their struggles over the last month.
Getafe, who have only played outside of Spain's top flight for one season since 2004, suffered a 3-0 loss to Atletico in the reverse match earlier this term, while they have not managed to overcome the Red and Whites in La Liga since November 2011, which is an indication of the size of their task here.
Team News
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Atletico will be missing Stefan Savic and Marcos Llorente on Saturday through injury, with the duo out for at least a couple more weeks due to muscular problems.
Matt Doherty made the move to the Red and Whites from Tottenham Hotspur on transfer deadline day, and the 31-year-old will be in contention to make his debut in this match.
Memphis Depay is pushing for a starting role, but Alvaro Morata could potentially come into the XI, with the Spaniard in line to partner Antoine Griezmann in the final third of the field.
As for Getafe, Mauro Arambarri and Munir El Haddadi are both expected to be absent for this match.
There were plenty of positives against Real Betis last time out, with the visitors only winning through a late penalty from Borja Iglesias, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI for this contest.
Borja Mayoral should again partner Enes Unal in the final third of the field, with Carles Alena and Luis Milla expected to retain their starting roles in midfield.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Gimenez, Hermoso, Reinildo; De Paul, Koke, Barrios, Correa; Morata, Griezmann
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Dakonam, Duarte, Alderete, Iglesias; Algobia, Milla, Alena; Unal, Mayoral
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Getafe
Atletico have been utterly dominant in this fixture in recent years, and it is therefore very difficult to back against a home win. Getafe's recent form has also played a major role in this prediction, and we are ultimately backing Atletico to collect all three points in comfortable fashion this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
