La Liga: Atletico Madrid vs. Elche Preview

Atletico Madrid will look to get back to winning ways in the Spanish top flight when they host Elche on Thursday night

Diego Simeone’s side are currently fifth in the La Liga table and have 24 points from their first 14 games, while Elche are bottom of the table with just four points this season.

Atlético have taken just one point from their last three LaLiga matches, losing to Cadiz and Mallorca and drawing at home to Espanyol. The last victory was against Real Betis on October 23rd.

Simeone’s side have dropped to fifth place, just two points behind third-placed Real Sociedad, but are 13 points behind leaders Barcelona as the capital club drop out of the title this season.

Atlético have earned two victories since their last league games against Mallorca, both victories in the Copa del Rey: 2-0 against Almazán on 12 November and 3-1 against Arenteiro on 22 December.

The rojiblancos are on the hunt for Copa del Rey glory this season, as they will be out of European football for the second half of the season after finishing bottom of their Champions League group behind Porto, Club Brugge and Bayer Leverkusen.

Atlético’s failure to stay in Europe has caused some of their players financial problems in relation to their departure in January and it is absolutely vital that the team manages to secure a place in Barcelona’s top four this season. Ensuring La Liga a Champions League campaign would be a major blow both on and off the pitch.

Elche do not want to do Atlético any favors on Thursday, having finished bottom of the table with four points from 14 games and eight points off secure 17th place.

The boxers are yet to win a single league game this season and have lost their last three games in Spain’s top flight against Getafe, Real Valladolid and Girona.

Pablo Machín became Elche’s third manager of the season in mid-November, with the 47-year-old taking responsibility for overseeing what would prove to be a major escape given their place in the table.

The Greens are certainly better than they were this season and are at this level for the third consecutive season, which is their best streak since the late 1970s.

Elche suffered a 1-0 defeat by Atlético in the encounter between the sides last season, while they have lost their last eight LaLiga games against the capital giants, which is an indication of the extent of the their task ahead of the competition on Thursday. Madrid.

Atlético can count on Rodrigo De Paul, Nahuel Molina, Ángel Correa and Antoine Griezmann for this match after participating in the World Cup final.

Griezmann could once again accompany Álvaro Morata into the final third of the pitch, while Simeone will make changes to the squad he started in the Copa del Rey last time out.

Pablo Barrios and Thomas Lemar could leave the starting eleven, but could remain the same three full-backs, with Mario Hermoso likely to remain alongside Stefan Savic and José Giménez.

As for Moose, John Donald and Jony Alamo will miss leg and knee injuries, respectively.

The guests are hoping Josan eliminates a hamstring problem to play in a wide area, while Pere Milla, Alex Collado and Raul Guti are also expected to start.

Lucas Boye has scored just one league goal this season but the 26-year-old should take the lead in the league’s basement attack.

Atletico Madrid vs. Elche Key Facts :

•          Atlético were authoritative in this match, winning 11 of their last 14 meetings.

•          Pablo Machín’s team has added just two wins in this period, while the serve was distributed           once.

•          Atlético have won their last five games against Elche and are unbeaten in their last ten                  games since November 2013

•          Elche are the only team so far this season to have won one La Liga match, lost ten and                   drawn four.

•          Simone’s side have been winless in their last three league games and have drawn and lost               twice since beating Real Betis 2-1 in October.

Team Forms:

Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

    W    D    W    L    D    L

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

    L    D    L    W    W    W

Elche La Liga form:

    D    L    D    L    L    L

Elche form (all competitions):

    D    L    L    L    L    W

Probable Lineups:

Atletico Madrid :

Oblak; Gimenez, Savic, Hermoso; Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Witsel, Carrasco; Morata, Griezmann

Elche :

Badia; Lirola, Roco, Gonzalez, Clerc; Mascarell, Guti; Josan, Collado, Milla; Boye