Atletico Madrid Must Bounce Back from Villarreal Defeat for Key Week

Matchday 6 was the weekend La Liga was blown wide open.

Real Madrid dropped points at home to Malaga. Atletico Madrid were beaten away by Villarreal, who now lead the table. Barcelona won but lost, really, with Lionel Messi ruled out for up to eight weeks with a knee injury, per Sport.

Sevilla won—at last—just ahead of their clash with Barcelona next time out in the league.

Diego Simeone will be looking at the table and the teams his side are fighting with for the title and believe he can drive Atletico to glory.

They won the league in 2013-14 after nobody gave them a chance, and the team has strengthened since.

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Barcelona look vulnerable, with Celta Vigo exposing their cracks with a 4-1 victory on September 23.

Messi's absence is their biggest problem, but Claudio Bravo, Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen are also injured, along with smaller issues for Jordi Alba. Neymar was out earlier in the season.

The Spanish champions have a small squad, and until Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal are allowed to play in January, they will likely drop some points.

That opens things up for the other sides, with the two biggest teams in the Spanish capital the most likely to take advantage.

Real Madrid have injury worries of their own.

Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Danilo, Sergio Ramos and Pepe are currently being treated by the club's medical department, while Jese went off injured after an hour against Malaga.

Even though Atletico suffered defeat against Villarreal, Cholo must pick his men back up for a week that could shape their season.

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On October 4, Atletico welcome Real Madrid to the Vicente Calderon.

If Rafa Benitez's side can escape back to Chamartin with three points, it would signal Atletico's season will not be a successful one.

They have already lost to Barcelona at home, and if Madrid inflict the same damage on the Rojiblancos, it will leave them in an extremely difficult position.

But in true Simeone fashion, we should focus on their next match and only their next match.

They host Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

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Having beaten Galatasaray away in their first game, a victory over the second-strongest team in the group would leave them in a comfortable spot.

It might even mean that later in the group, when they have to make the brutal, near-7,000 km trip to Kazakhstan to play Astana, they can leave behind several first-teamers.

Being able to rest the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin and Filipe Luis, would stand them in better stead for their next league game, against Sporting Gijon.

Winning and building up some momentum ahead of the Madrid derby is imperative.

If Atletico win their next two games, they will be set up for the season ahead. You can't win the Champions League or La Liga in the autumn, but you can certainly lose them.