Atletico Madrid will be aiming to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they welcome an in-form Las Palmas to Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday afternoon.
The home side are currently fourth in the La Liga table, 10 points behind the leaders Barcelona, while Las Palmas sit 18th, picking up nine points from their opening 11 matches of the 2024-25 campaign.
Match preview
© Imago
Atletico boast a record of five wins, five draws and one defeat from 11 La Liga matches this season, with a total of 20 points leaving them in fourth spot in the table, four points behind second-placed Real Madrid and 10 from leaders Barcelona.
Diego Simeone's side suffered back-to-back defeats towards the end of last month, going down 3-1 at home to Lille in the Champions League before losing 1-0 at Real Betis in La Liga.
However, the Red and Whites did manage to return to winning ways on Thursday evening, with Julian Alvarez netting a brace in a 2-0 success over Vic in the Copa del Rey to send the capital team into the second round of the competition.
Atletico have work to do in the Champions League, having lost two of their three matches in this season's competition to sit down in 27th spot in the table, while they have only actually won two of their last seven games in all competitions.
Simeone's team will be the huge favourites to overcome Las Palmas this weekend, though, and they recorded a 5-0 victory in the corresponding clash between the two sides during the 2023-24 campaign.
© Imago
Las Palmas have had a tricky start to the season, but Diego Martinez's side will enter this match in excellent form, having won their last three matches in all competitions, including two La Liga games.
Pio Pio beat Valencia 3-2 on October 21 to record their first league victory of the season, and they followed that result with a 1-0 win over Girona last weekend, with Alex Munoz netting the only goal of the contest in the 42nd minute.
Las Palmas' winning run continued in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, as they put seven unanswered goals past Ontinena in the first round of the competition, so the team will be chasing a fourth straight success on Sunday afternoon.
Los Amarillos finished 16th in La Liga last term, and they are enjoying their best run at this level of football since 2018, while their recent run should hand them confidence when it comes to their battle to stay out of the relegation zone.
Las Palmas have conceded 18 goals in their last four defeats to Atletico in Spain's top flight, but they did record a 2-1 victory over the capital outfit when the two teams locked horns at Estadio Gran Canaria in November 2023.
Team News
© Imago
Atletico boss Simeone will ring the changes from the Copa del Rey clash on Thursday night, with Koke, Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak, Rodrigo De Paul, Jose Gimenez and Samuel Lino among those set to return.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Clement Lenglet, Pablo Barrios, Marcos Llorente and Robin Le Normand are again unavailable for selection due to injury problems, while Thomas Lemar had to be substituted after coming off the bench against Vic last time out.
Alexander Sorloth is expected to start on the bench on Sunday, with Alvarez and Griezmann likely to operate as a front two.
As for Las Palmas, Marvin Park and Adnan Januzaj remain unavailable due to injury problems, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape heading into their clash with Atletico.
Head coach Martinez is expected to name the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Girona in the league last weekend, with Fabio Silva again set to lead the line.
Jaime Mata scored four in a stunning performance against Ontinena in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, but it still might not be enough for him to feature in the starting side at Wanda Metropolitano.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; De Paul, Koke, Gallagher, Lino; Alvarez, Griezmann
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Cillessen; Rozada, Suarez, McKenna, Munoz; Essugo, Campana; Fuster, K Rodriguez, Moleiro; Silva
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Las Palmas
Las Palmas will enter this match full of confidence, and Atletico are yet to find their best form this season; we are expecting a close match on Sunday, with Las Palmas having a goal in them against a strong Atletico defence, but the home side should have enough quality to navigate their way to all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
