Atletico Madrid vs. Levante: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
They left it late, but two goals in the final two minutes from Angel Correa and Antoine Griezmann ensured Atletico Madrid were able to end 2015 with a precious victory at Rayo Vallecano, a result made all the more important following the shock loss at Malaga before Christmas.
Diego Simeone’s side return to the Vicente Calderon on Saturday evening as they bid to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the table, with Barca facing a Catalan derby with Espanyol earlier in the day.
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Nothing less than a home victory will be expected in Madrid, especially with Levante sitting rock bottom of the table with just one win in their last 10 league games.
Atletico will have to guard against the type of complacency we saw at Malaga, but a winning start to 2016 is to be expected.
Date: Saturday, January 2, 2016
Time: 7:30 p.m. GMT / 2:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Vicente Calderon Stadium, Madrid
TV Info: Sky Sports 5
Live Stream: Sky Sports
Last 6 Results
Atletico Madrid
Won 2-0 vs. Granada (Away)
Won 2-1 vs. Benfica (Away)
Won 2-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao (Home)
Won 1-0 vs. Reus Deportiu (Home)
Lost 1-0 vs. Malaga (Away)
Won 2-0 vs. Rayo Vallecano (Away)
Levante
Drew 1-1 vs. Espanyol (Home)
Drew 1-1 vs. Espanyol (Away)
Lost 2-1 vs. Granada (Home)
Lost 2-1 vs. Espanyol (Away)
Lost 2-0 vs. Athletic Bilbao (Away)
Lost 1-0 vs. Malaga (Home)
Team News
Atletico Madrid
Simeone may lose patience with Fernando Torres after hauling him off just after the hour mark at Rayo Vallecano following a poor display, with Angel Correa in line to replace him after a goalscoring cameo off the bench.
Jackson Martinez could also push for a start after managing 20 minutes in midweek, but the Colombian is likely to have to remain patient as he continues his comeback from injury.
Guilherme Siqueira could replace Jesus Gamez at left-back, while Tiago is still out injured.
Possible Atletico XI: Oblak, Juanfran, Godin, Gimenez, Siqueira, Saul, Koke, Oliver Torres, Ferreira-Carrasco, Correa, Griezmann.
Levante
Les Granotes’ (The Frogs) boss Rubi must be tempted to make changes given Levante’s dreadful run of form, and top scorer Deyverson could come back into the side after being left on the bench for 73 minutes of the 1-0 defeat to Malaga on Wednesday.
Veteran defender Juanfran was replaced by Jose Mari at half-time in that loss, and that could be another switch Rubi makes in a bid to avoid what many will see as an inevitable defeat.
Possible Levante XI: Marino, Navarro, Jose Mari, Pedro Lopez, Karabelas, Simao Junior, Lerma, Camarasa, Roger Marti, Ruben Garcia, Deyverson.
Key Players
Atletico Madrid: Angel Correa
Surely deserving of a start after his strike against Rayo Vallecano, the young Argentinean forward Angel Correa could bolster his burgeoning reputation with another goal against La Liga’s bottom club.
That goal was Correa’s first since hitting the net against Benfica in the Champions League in September, and he’ll hope that 2016 will see him included in Simeone’s plans more often than not.
Levante: Diego Marino
One of the decisions that Rubi has taken in a bid to turn around his side’s disastrous form is replace the former Barcelona goalkeeper Ruben with his younger team-mate Diego Marino, who has started the last two league matches between the posts after impressing in the Copa del Rey.
The 25-year-old is clearly going to be in for his toughest test so far at the Vicente Calderon, where Atletico are likely to dominate possession and create plenty of chances.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Atletico Madrid: 2/9
Levante: 10/1
Draw: 11/2
