Atlético Madrid vs Villareal - Will The Colchoneros Be Able To Sink The Yellow Submarine?

Next Saturday, league leaders Atlético Madrid will measure forces with Villarreal at Vicente Calderón for round 32 of Liga BBVA on what will be the first of the seven finals ahead for Los Colchoneros in their walk to claim the Spanish league title.

Diego Godín, the Uruguayan centre back from Atlético Madrid, recently stated that he and his team never felt inferiors to any other team, especially since he believes the Colchoneros gather everything necessary to win the title this season. Atlético Madrid are enjoying a fantastic moment at La Liga, collecting five wins on their last six matches, and they seem to be the most consistent team of the three title contenders. Diego Simeone praised his team’s efforts after their vital win at Bilbao and he claimed that it is important to let the players enjoy this good moment and face this new reality for them.

For next Saturday’s match, Diego Simeone will probably not be able to count on his team’s star Diego Costa that suffered a hamstring muscle injury in his right thigh against Barcelona last Tuesday.

Villarreal, on the other hand, are currently going through a slightly complicated moment, as the team has only managed to win one of their last six matches. After an important away win against Getafe, the Valencian Community’s team stumbled once again at El Madrigal last weekend by conceding a draw against Elche. Villarreal lost a good opportunity to climb two places in the table, since Real Sociedad and Sevilla have also failed to win their respective matches last round. The Yellow Submarine is currently at the seventh place of the table, seven points behind Athletic Bilbao that occupies that last spot giving access to the UEFA Champions League next season.

For next Saturday’s match, Marcelino Toral will not be able to count on one of his most important players, the Mexican forward Gio dos Santos, who will miss the team’s next matches due to injury.

Last time both teams met was last November at El Madrigal and the match ended in a draw with two own goals. This time, however, it is not likely that Villarreal will be able to counter Atlético Madrid’s current dominance over Liga BBVA.

Atlético Madrid

W-24 L-3 D-4

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Villarreal

W-14 L-10 D-7

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Possible Line-ups

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2) – Courtois - Juanfran - Miranda - Godin - Filipe Luis - M.Suárez - Gabi - Koke - Turan -  Diego - David Villa

Villarreal (4-4-2) – Asenjo - Mario - Gabriel - Pantic - Costa - Pina - Bruno - Goméz - Cani - Perbet - J. Pereira

Prediction: Atlético Madrid 2 Villarreal 0