Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico Madrid: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Stream, TV Info
One game remains in 2015 for the sides in La Liga, one game where managers can assess and decide over the state of their squad ahead of the opening of the transfer window and the possibility to upgrade a key position.
There are no such worries for Atletico Madrid; even now, a few days before the turn of the year, Atleti's one area of potential weakness has all been taken care of. The departure of Raul Garcia shortly before the closure of the summer window and the recent injury to Tiago left Diego Simeone's side potentially short in midfield, but two arrivals have already been confirmed to plug those gaps.
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Matias Kranevitter had already been signed up and has now joined with the squad following River Plate's Club World Cup exertions, and he is in training ahead of being eligible to register in the new year.
"Our team starts the last session before the #RayoAtleti. Kranevitter is already with the group #GoAtleti pic.twitter.com/WKhbzkbJVF
— Atleti English (@atletienglish) December 29, 2015"
Not content with a single new face to boost the squad, Tiago's absence has prompted Atleti into further action, and they have arranged the arrival of Celta Vigo's combative and controlling midfielder Augusto Fernandez.
The Argentinian has impressed over the last 18 months at a Celta side who are comfortable on the ball and attack with style, being something of a balancing presence in that team with his ability to win back possession, protect the defence and distribute neatly. It means that both new faces will compete with each other for game time in the centre, along with captain Gabi and the impressive of late Saul Niguez.
Saul is a younger player but doesn't lack experience—the side Atletico face on Wednesday, Rayo Vallecano, are the side Saul played an entire season for on loan in 2013-14. He has progressed impressively in the last month or so when given a regular run, and he won't make it easy for the new faces to waltz in and steal his spot in the team.
Atletico have plenty going for them as they head into the new year, still hoping for better end product in attack, no doubt, but certainly in the mix for major titles. They could have been top heading into this last match of the year, indeed, but there's also an argument that playing catch-up—rather than being chased by everyone else—is a scenario that suits Atletico and their players.
Amid the new options in midfield, Tiago is keen not to be forgotten. He has promised to return stronger after his broken leg and is chasing a new contract at the club too. Competition for places in the centre of the park, traditionally one of Atletico's most important areas of both offence and defence under Simeone, can be one of their best assets as they chase glory on all fronts this season.
Date: Wednesday, December 30
Time: 5:15 p.m. GMT/12:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Vallecas, Madrid
TV Info: Sky Sports 2 (UK) beIN Sports en Espanol (USA)
Live Stream: Sky GO (UK), beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA)
The Teams
Nobody in Spain needs a performance and a result like Rayo Vallecano right now. They have won just once in their last seven in all competitions, have lost the last four on the bounce and were humiliated last time out before Christmas, losing 10-2 to Real Madrid after having two players sent off.
Rayo have dropped into the bottom three as a result and have lost more games and conceded more goals than any other side in La Liga.
Paco Jemez has to continually renew the look of the side, built on loans and free transfers, but his cavalier style of play—attack at all costs, defend when possible—is paying nowhere near as high dividends this season as it did last, when Rayo ended the campaign in 11th place.
Points are of a priority right now and the upcoming run looks terrible: Atleti, Real Sociedad, Atleti (Copa del Rey first leg), a must-win game at Levante, Atleti (second leg), Valencia, Celta Vigo, Deportivo La Coruna. It's tough to see where results will come from to turn things around as they head into 2016.
Atletico themselves missed the chance to go top of La Liga last time out; with Barcelona not in Liga action, even a draw at Malaga would have put Diego Simeone's team top, but a late deflection off Diego Godin's boot meant a 1-0 loss, bringing a nine-game win streak to an end.
That aside, Atletico have impressed of late with their resilience and consistency, even if goals have still been hard to come by. They could do with ending the year on a positive note and continuing to push the Catalan club all the way at the top.
Team News
With both first-choice goalkeepers—Tono and David Cobeno—out with long-term injuries, Rayo have had to bring in reinforcements and Yoel (loan from Valencia) is the stand-in. Further terrible news came before Christmas with the news that flying attacking midfielder Patrick Ebert will likely miss the rest of the season as well, with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
From the last game at Real, Raul Baena and Tito were both sent off so will be missing from the lineup. Quini is likely to come in for Tito at right-back, while the midfield replacement for Baena will depend on whether Jemez opts for a more solid centre of the park, or else drops Jozabed back to the middle and goes with another attacking option ahead. Left-back Razvan Rat has also missed the last few games injured.
Atletico have Filipe Luis suspended, while Gabi's sending-off against Malaga means he is also sidelined. Marca report that Thomas stood in for the skipper in training, which would signal a first start in La Liga for the powerful midfielder.
Guilherme Siqueira is the obvious choice to replace Luis at left-back, while Oliver Torres could also replace Yannick Carrasco, who has been out of form over the last few games. In attack, the decision will again be between Fernando Torres or Luciano Vietto to partner Antoine Griezmann.
Possible Lineups
Rayo (4-2-3-1): Yoel; Quini, Antonio Amaya, Ze Castro, Nacho Martinez; Jozabed, Roberto Trashorras; Bebe, Pablo Hernandez, Lass; Javi Guerra.
Atleti (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Juanfran, Josema Gimenez, Diego Godin, Guilherme Siqueira; Oliver, Saul, Thomas, Koke; Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres.
Player to Watch: Thomas, ATM
He hasn't started in La Liga yet but the powerful midfielder has begun to break into the Atletico first-team scene over the past month, featuring off the bench in league play and starting in the Copa. Rather than a pure holder, he's a rampaging destroyer who can surge forward into space and is pleasingly refined in the final pass or shot from distance once around the edge of the box.
So far his game time has come centrally—where he played most of last season on loan at Almeria—but Simeone also sees him as an option to play from the sides, presumably to make use of his athleticism and capacity to break into space quickly.
With new arrivals ready to impact after the turn of the year in Thomas' position, this could be his one and only opportunity to put in a big performance from the start. He must take it or face the rest of the season as a back-up in Simeone's plans.
Prediction
Atletico to finally make good on their attacking promise and rack up a scoreline against a porous defence. Rayo Vallecano 0-3 Atletico Madrid.
