Atletico Madrid play host to Getafe on Wednesday evening looking for the win which would ensure that they remain at the top of the La Liga standings.
Despite heading into this contest in 12th position, Getafe sit three points above the relegation zone after just one win in nine matches.
Match preview
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The defeat to champions and rivals Real Madrid earlier this month had the potential to derail Atletico's brilliant start to the campaign.
However, back-to-back wins over Elche and Real Sociedad have got Diego Simeone's men back on track, keeping them at the top of the table on goal difference.
With games in hand on many of their title rivals, Atletico have an opportunity to further strengthen their position, but it means avoiding any below-par showings over the Christmas and New Year period.
A triple-header of Getafe, Alaves and Athletic Bilbao brings the expectation of nine more points, although Simeone may have to rotate his players when also having to contend with a tie in the Copa del Rey.
Luis Suarez remains under pressure to find some consistency in the final third having scored in just one of his last five matches.
Getafe have struggled for form since the beginning of the season with just four wins and 12 goals coming from their 14 La Liga fixtures.
Nevertheless, collecting four points from games against Cadiz and Celta Vigo has breathed new life into their campaign ahead of the turn of the year.
Although Jose Bordalas's team sit six points behind the top six, putting some distance between themselves and the relegation zone is arguably more important at this stage of the season.
With this representing their last fixture against a title challenger until February 7, Bordalas will stress to his players that they can play with an element of freedom at Wanda Metropolitano.
Atletico Madrid La Liga form: WWWLWW
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions): WWLWWW
Getafe La Liga form: DDLLWD
Getafe form (all competitions): DLLWWD
Team News
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Atletico will be without defender Kieran Trippier, who is sidelined until the start of March due to breaching betting regulations before his exit from Tottenham Hotspur in 2018.
Sime Vrsaljko is in line to make his first La Liga appearance of the season, while Angel Correa should get the nod over Thomas Lemar.
Allan Nyom, Damian Suarez and Erick Cabaco are all missing for Getafe due to suspension.
However, Cucho Hernandez and Mathias Olivera are expected to be drafted straight back into the team after also serving bans.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Savic, Felipe, Hermoso; Vrsaljko, Koke, Llorente, Carrasco; Correa, Suarez, Felix
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Yanez; Dakonam, Etxeita, Rodriguez, Olivera; Maksimovic, Arambarri, Timor; Hernandez, Unal, Cucurella
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Getafe
Collecting four points from their last two fixtures has come as a timely boost for Getafe ahead of one of the toughest games of the campaign. However, we still expect Atletico to come through in relatively comfortable fashion, adding another clean sheet to their impressive defensive record.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atletico Madrid win with a probability of 50.42%. A draw had a probability of 27.6% and a win for Getafe had a probability of 21.93%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Madrid win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.68%) and 2-1 (8.63%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.49%), while for a Getafe win it was 0-1 (9.05%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 15.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Atletico Madrid in this match.
