Sporting Gijon vs. Atletico Madrid: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
A good week for Atletico Madrid could get even better as they head for relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon on Saturday afternoon.
Doubtless still a little tired from being taken to extra-time by PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, Diego Simeone’s side will be buoyed by their penalty shootout victory and a place in the quarter-finals for a third consecutive season.
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At this stage, they would appear to have more chance of winning that tournament than earning success in La Liga, where Barcelona are now eight points ahead with nine games remaining and have clicked ruthlessly in recent weeks, while for Sporting, the need for points is for a hugely different reason.
A run of eight matches without a victory has left Abelardo’s team in 19th place, three points from safety and looking increasingly likely to go down.
They’ll see anything they get from this game as a bonus, but Atletico won’t be in a mood to give them a sniff.
Date: Saturday, March 19
Time: 3 p.m. GMT / 11 a.m. ET
Venue: El Molinon, Gijon, Spain
TV Info: beIN Sports
Live Stream: beIN Sports
Last 6 Results
Sporting Gijon
Lost 3-1 vs. Barcelona
Drew 1-1 vs. Real Betis
Lost 4-2 vs. Espanyol
Lost 2-0 vs. Granada
Lost 2-0 vs. Athletic Bilbao
Lost 1-0 vs. Malaga
Atletico Madrid
Drew 0-0 vs. PSV Eindhoven
Won 1-0 vs. Real Madrid
Won 3-0 vs. Real Sociedad
Won 3-1 vs. Valencia
Won 3-0 vs. Deportivo
Drew 0-0 vs. PSV Eindhoven (won 8-7 on penalties)
Team News
Sporting Gijon
Abelardo must be tempted to try whatever he can to reverse Sporting’s horrendous run of form, but he’ll still be without the injured Nacho Cases and Bernardo Espinosa here.
The former Barcelona defender is likely to stick with plenty of the side that fell to a 1-0 defeat at Malaga last Friday, with exciting Croatian youngster Alen Halilovic again likely to have to settle for a place on the substitutes’ bench.
Carlos Castro replaced Daniel N’Di at half-time at La Rosaleda, and he could come in from the start here.
Possible XI: Cuellar, Lora, Hernandez, Jorge Mere, Isma Lopez, Alvarez, Mascarell, Castro, Carmona, Jony, Sanabria.
Atletico Madrid
The idea of rotating after the gruelling victory over PSV Eindhoven will be uppermost in Simeone’s mind, but the Argentinian coach will trust his players to deliver however he lines them up, with Diego Godin set to be replaced by Lucas Hernandez after he limped off in midweek.
Defender Stefan Savic and midfielder Tiago are both still out injured, and there will be battle for a central midfield spot between Augusto Fernandez and fellow Argentinian Matias Kranevitter.
Yannick Carrasco was again used in attack against PSV, but he could drop out for one of Fernando Torres or Luciano Vietto, with the fresher legs of the latter perhaps tipping the balance in his favour.
Possible XI: Oblak, Juanfran, Gimenez, Lucas, Filipe Luis, Gabi, Kranevitter, Saul, Koke, Griezmann, Vietto.
Key Players
Sporting Gijon: Antonio Sanabria
Young Paraguayan forward Antonio Sanabria has been one of the few bright lights of Sporting’s season, scoring 10 goals in 21 appearances during his loan spell from Serie A side Roma.
The 20-year-old has five caps for his country and will be eyeing a place in their squad for the Copa America in the summer, but he is going to have to work hard for whatever he can get against La Liga’s best defence.
Atletico Madrid: Koke
One of the most stylish midfielders in the division, Atletico’s heartbeat Koke has been key to everything they have done well this season.
With a spot in Spain’s midfield for the UEFA Euro 2016 finals already looking assured, Koke will look to be the inspiration for his club side for the remainder of the campaign, as well as looking to improve on a goalscoring record that is looking inferior to his previous campaigns right now.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Sporting Gijon – 13/2
Atletico Madrid – 1/2
Draw – 14/5
