Villarreal vs. Atletico Madrid: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Stream, TV Info
Midweek wins further solidified the good starts to the season that have been enjoyed by Villarreal and Atletico Madird, who meet at El Madrigal on Saturday evening both sitting comfortably in the top four of the Liga table.
For Villarreal, that will be a reminder of the club’s halcyon days of the mid-2000s, when they regularly finished in the top few places in the table and even reached a Champions League semi-final.
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For Atletico Madrid, such days are a little easier to recall, and Diego Simeone’s side will know a win here will be vital as they seek to keep the early-season pace with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
This promises to be a fascinating clash, one that will tell us a lot about the respective ambitions of both teams as this early stage of the campaign.
Date: Saturday, September 26
Time: 7.30 p.m. BST / 2.30 p.m. ET
Venue: El Madrigal, Villarreal
TV Info: Sky Sports 2
Live Stream: Sky Sports
Last 6 Results
Villarreal
Drew 1-1 vs. Real Betis (Away)
Won 3-1 vs. Espanyol (Home)
Won 3-1 vs. Granada (Away)
Lost 2-1 vs. Rapid Vienna (Away)
Won 3-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao (Home)
Won 1-0 vs. Malaga (Away)
Atletico Madrid
Won 1-0 vs. Las Palmas (Home)
Won 3-0 vs. Sevilla (Away)
Lost 2-1 vs. Barcelona (Home)
Won 2-0 vs. Galatasaray (Away)
Won 2-0 vs. Eibar (Away)
Won 2-0 vs. Getafe (Home)
Predicted Lineups
Villarreal
Roberto Soldado missed the midweek win at Malaga and, according to Soccerway, remains on the injured list alongside Cedric Bakambu, Sergio Asenjo and Mateo Musacchio, although hopes are high the former pair could return here.
Soldado and Bakambu have scored five goals between them so far this season. Former Atletico man Adrian Lopez, on loan from Porto, limped off just 10 minutes in to the game at Malaga, ensuring Villarreal coach Marcelino needs them back.
Adrian’s replacement, 18-year-old Matias Nahuel, could come in from the start in midfield.
Possible XI: Areola, Jokic, Mario, Bailly, Costa, Leiva, Pina, Dos Santos, Suarez, Soldado, Bakambu.
Atletico Madrid
With Koke out for the next couple of weeks as a result of the hamstring injury he picked up against Eibar, Simeone was able to shake up the midfield for the midweek clash with Getafe, in which Saul played in the centre with Gabi and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco played wide left before Angel Correa replaced him at half-time.
Antoine Griezmann was again the star man in that match, scoring early and late in the 2-0 win, but it’ll interesting to see whether the coach opts to stick with Fernando Torres alongside him up front or instead give a run out to Jackson Martinez.
Guilherme Siqueira looks like keeping his place at left-back despite the return to fitness of Filipe Luis, although Jose Gimenez could replace Stefan Savic.
Possible XI: Oblak, Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Siqueira, Oliver, Gabi, Tiago, Correa, Griezmann, Martinez.
Key Players
Villarreal: Alphonse Areola
In the continued absence of goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo, it has been on-loan Paris Saint-Germain stopper Alphonse Areola whom Marcelino has turned to between the sticks, and the 22-year-old has rarely let him down.
The France under-21 international has conceded four goals in five games, and he kept his first clean sheet for the club in the victory over Malaga on Wednesday.
With the attacking talent at Atletico’s disposal, he is sure to be a busy man here.
Atletico Madrid: Antoine Griezmann
You can’t ignore Griezmann’s stunning form, with the 24-year-old firing his second double of the season to take his tally to five for the campaign in midweek.
Whether Areola’s compatriot is on that Atletico Madrid path to a big-money move the likes of Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa have trodden before remains to be seen, but he is clearly their best player and will be their go-to man at El Madrigal.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Villarreal: 23/10
Atletico Madrid: 6/5
Draw: 2/1
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