After a dramatic comeback win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, Atlético de Madrid host Villarreal on Saturday afternoon with a chance — at least temporarily — to return to the summit of LaLiga.
Atletico Madrid (13-5-2, 44 points) have lost only once in the past 13 tries against Villarreal (9-6-5, 33 points) — a stretch that also includes seven draws and five Atlético victories. Even with a leaky defense (31 goals conceded in 20 games), it’s no secret that Marcelino’s men are among the tougher opponents for which Diego Simeone has to plan. Álex Baena, Villarreal’s star player, is especially unpredictable; the 23-year-old playmaker leads all players in LaLiga in shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (across 800 minutes played or more), and only FC Barcelona’s Raphinha has conjured more shot-creating actions overall.
It has been reported that Baena and Atlético have mutual interest in a summer transfer, perhaps at a fee below his €60 million release clause. If he wows the Metropolitano on Saturday and leads Villarreal (without injured metronome Dani Parejo) to a surprise win, that will only drive up the interest and urgency to sign him after the season.
“The opponent’s numbers tell us that it’s a very difficult match,” Marcelino told the media on Friday. “(Atlético) are a very sound team, with only 13 goals conceded and 10 clean sheets. They have an extraordinary squad and coach. But we are not defeated, we are going there with the hope of winning. We have to be solid at the back, match their intensity in duels, and pay maximum attention.”
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Sørloth set to return
After missing Atlético’s past two games to manage a right knee injury, former Villarreal forward Alexander Sørloth is positioned to rejoin the Atlético squad after he took part in full team training on Friday. Sørloth was Villarreal’s top scorer in LaLiga last year with 23 goals; he scored 16 times after Jan. 20. This season, only Robert Lewandowski has a better xG per 90 mark than Sørloth among forwards with at least 750 minutes played.
While Sørloth could be in line for minutes on Saturday, the same cannot be said for left-back Javi Galán, who suffered a moderate ankle sprain in midweek. Galán was set to miss this match anyway through suspension, and it seems he will miss at least two more games — away to RB Salzburg in the Champions League and home to Mallorca in LaLiga — due to this injury. Atlético are aiming to have the Extremaduran ready for the Feb. 8 derby against Real Madridat the latest.
Clément Lenglet too is suspended through yellow card accumulation; Robin Le Normand is likely to start in his place, alongside Joséma Giménez. Simeone did not test an 11 during the portion of Friday’s session open to media, but we can assume Reinildo will replace Galán at left-back. I can see Conor Gallagher returning to the lineup, while Antoine Griezmann and Julián Alvarez should repeat as the starting forward pair after Alvarez’s heroics on Tuesday.
Date Jan. 25, 2025
Location Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid
Kickoff time 4:15 p.m. CEST, 3:15 p.m. GMT, 10:15 a.m. ET, 7:15 a.m. PT
RIP Villarreal USA
Available TV/streaming ESPN+ (United States), Movistar+ (Spain)