Sports Mole previews Sunday’s La Liga clash between Alaves and Atletico Madrid, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Atletico Madrid will look to bounce back from their Champions League quarter-final disappointment when they resume their La Liga campaign away from home. Alavés Sunday evening.
Diego SimeoneThe Alaves side are currently fourth in the La Liga table, four points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, while Alaves are 14th, seven points above the relegation zone.
Match Preview
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Having secured a return to La Liga through the 2022-23 Segunda Division qualifiers, this season was always going to be about consolidation for Alaves, and with that in mind, it has been a successful campaign so far.
Indeed, the Blue and White have collected 32 points from their 31 league matches this season thanks to a record of eight wins, eight draws and 15 defeats, and they currently occupy 14th place in the standings.
Luis Garcia SquareThe Ottawa side are not yet safe from the threat of relegation, but they are in a strong position, sitting seven points above the bottom three with seven matches remaining.
Alaves have only managed to win one of their last nine league matches, while they have lost four of their last five and each of their last three against Athletic, Real Sociedad and Granada.
El Glorioso have been relatively solid in front of their own fans this season, picking up 21 points from their 15 matches, while Atletico have actually lost seven times on their La Liga trips in 2023-24.
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Atletico put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals, after recording a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the round of 16 tie in Madrid last week .
Simeone’s side suffered a 4-2 defeat to Dortmund in the second leg of their quarter-final on Tuesday night to go down 5-4 on aggregate, with the Red and Whites eliminated from European competition.
Atletico must now turn their focus back to La Liga and their fight for a top four finish, with the capital side far from comfortable when it comes to securing a Champions League place for the 2024-25 campaign.
Simeone’s side are fourth, just four points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic, and the two teams will face off in a huge match on April 27.
Atletico beat Girona 3-1 in La Liga last weekend, and their home form this season has been excellent, picking up 43 points from 16 matches, which is the best record in the division.
However, the Red and Whites have only the seventh best away record, with seven defeats in 15 matches, and they will come into this match after a grueling contest against Dortmund.
Alavés La Liga form:
Atletico Madrid form in La Liga:
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
Team News
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Alaves should once again find themselves without the services of Adrien Rodriguez And Alexander Sedlar for this weekend’s competition, but the Basque team has no new fitness concerns.
Head coach Garcia is unlikely to make any radical changes from the team that started against Granada last time out, but Alex Sola And Abde Rebbach could be introduced into the XI.
Samu Omorodionwho has scored eight league goals this season, is on loan at Alaves from Atletico, but is available to face his parent club this weekend.
As for Atletico, Memphis Depay, Marcos Paulo And Thomas Lemar stay out due to injury, while Marcos Llorente is suspended following his yellow card against Girona last time.
Pablo Barrios was suspended for the team’s final league match, but he will be available for this competition and changes are expected from the team that started against Dortmund.
Angel Correa marked on the bench in Germany and could be introduced into the final third of the pack, while Samuel Lino and Barrios also try to join the starting XI.
Possible starting lineup of Alaves:
Sivera; Gorosabel, Tenaglia, Marin, Duarte; Guevara, Blanco; Rebbach, Panichelli, Sola; Omorodion
Possible Atletico Madrid starting lineup:
Oblak; Witsel, Giménez, Hermoso; Molina, Barrios, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Correa, Griezmann
We say: Alaves 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Atletico have won five of the last six La Liga meetings between these two sides, but Alaves recorded a 1-0 victory in the corresponding competition during the 2021-22 campaign.
Alaves will certainly be the fresher of the two teams for this match, but we expect Atletico to force their way to three important points on Sunday evening.
For data analysis of most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match, please click here.
