With three games left of the La Liga season, Atletico Madrid welcome Real Sociedad to Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday, as they look to stay in pole position for the title.
A goalless draw with title rivals Barcelona last time out saw Diego Simeone's side maintain their position at the top of the La Liga table, with a two-point lead over Real Madrid and Barcelona with nine points left to play for.
Match preview
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Atletico Madrid clashed with Barcelona at the Camp Nou last Saturday, in a crucial game in the race for the La Liga title.
Los Colchoneros had the slightly better chances in the match, but it finished goalless to maintain their two-point lead at the top of the table.
Diego Simeone's men have sat at the summit for the majority of the campaign, having won 23 of their 35 league outings, and they will be desperate for a first La Liga title since 2014.
That has largely been down to a solid defensive record, as is customary of a Simeone side, with no side in the Spanish top flight conceding as few as the 22 goals that Los Colchoneros have shipped in those 35 matches, keeping 18 clean sheets along the way.
However, their chances of securing the trophy have been somewhat reduced recently, having picked up 15 points from their last nine league games, coinciding with upturns in form from Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the pair remaining in hot pursuit of the top spot.
They now have a simple task of winning their last three league matches to seal the title, although Wednesday's game presents a tough obstacle as they welcome a Real Sociedad side who have enjoyed a rise up to fifth spot thanks to a strong run of form.
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Imanol Alguacil's side made a return to winning ways last time out, as they took on Elche on home turf.
The game remained goalless for the majority, despite Elche playing with 10 men after Raul Guti's red card in the 11th minute, but the hosts eventually broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute through Aritz Elustondo before Mikel Oyarzabal added a second in added time to seal the three points.
That meant they have now won three of their last four league matches, having previously picked up a 2-1 win at home to Celta Vigo and a 1-0 away victory over Eibar before suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of strugglers Huesca.
As a result of their recent upturn in form, Los Txuri-Urdin have moved up to fifth spot in La Liga, guaranteeing qualification to the Europa League group stage if they can maintain their top-six position.
To do that, Alguacil's side will hope to pick up a second consecutive victory on Wednesday, as they make the trip to the Spanish capital to take on an Atletico Madrid side who have started to look shaky.
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Team News
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Atletico Madrid will be without Thomas Lemar, who was forced off after just 10 minutes against Barcelona with an ankle concern.
In his absence, Joao Felix is expected to come into the attack alongside Luis Suarez and Angel Correa.
Suarez will lead the line with the hopes of breaking a four-game goalless run, having netted 19 goals this campaign thanks to a prolific start to the season.
Lemar could be joined on the sidelines by Renan Lodi, who made the bench last time out but could struggle to make a quick return after a muscle injury.
Centre-back Jose Gimenez remains a doubt, but he should be fit to start after returning to the bench for the Barcelona encounter.
Real Sociedad will remain without crucial midfielder Mikel Merino, who has been absent since March through injury.
Meanwhile, midfielder Carlos Fernandez and left-back Aihen Munoz remain doubts, while centre-back Igor Zubeldia should be fully fit to come back into the starting side.
However, Aritz Elustondo will hope that his goal and clean sheet last time out will be enough to keep him in the back four.
Winger Mikel Oyarzabal has been crucial in their attack this season, registering 11 goals and seven assists in 30 league appearances.
He will support striker Alexander Isak, who has netted 14 La Liga goals so far this campaign.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Savic, Gimenez, Hermoso; Tripper, Koke, Llorente, Carrasco; Felix, Suarez, Correa
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Zaldua, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Monreal; Guevara, Zubimendi; Januzaj, Silva, Oyarzabal; Isak
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Sociedad
Despite their recent lack of consistency and Real Sociedad's impressive run of form, we see Los Colchoneros rallying to pick up a crucial victory on home turf.
The title remains in their hands, and they will be desperate to win their last three games to seal that, starting with the toughest task on Wednesday.
Top 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 44.12%. A draw had a probability of 28.8% and a win for Real Sociedad had a probability of 27.04%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Madrid win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.35%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.99%) and 2-1 (8.22%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (13.11%), while for a Real Sociedad win it was 0-1 (10.46%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Atletico Madrid would win this match.
