Atlético Madrid vs Elche Prediction - The First of Five Finals To Atlético Madrid

Next Friday, the league leaders Atlético Madrid will entertain a relegation-threatened Elche at Vicente Calderón for round 34 of Liga BBVA on the first of their five remaining “finals” in the path for the title until the end of the season.

After a demanding match at Coliseum Alfonso Peréz, where the Colchoneros grabbed a vital 2-0 win against a hard-working Getafe, Atlético’s manager Diego Simeone told the media that every remaining match until the end of the season will need to be prepared as if it was a final. The team from the Spanish capital city are currently enjoying a fantastic moment, especially after kicking Barcelona out of the UEFA Champions League last week and after seven consecutive wins at La Liga. Atlético’s next match against Elche will certainly not be an easy one due to the visitors perilous position at the league table. The team from the Comunidad Valenciana will certainly offer Atlético some strong opposition as they cannot allow any mistakes if they want to stay at the Spanish football top tier next season.

For next Friday’s match, Diego Simeone is not yet certain if he will be able to count on Arda Turan, since he is still slowly recovering from a recent injury.

Elche, on the other hand, are facing a completely different reality. Los Franjiverdes have only managed to win one of their last seven matches and they currently find themselves just four points above from the relegation line. Last weekend, Elche lost the Comunidad Valenciana’s derby against Los Che, thus dropping one place at the league table.

With an agonizingly poor record away from home this season, the chances of Elche grabbing something positive from their visit to Vicente Calderón are considerably remote.

For their match against Atlético, Elche’s manager Fran Escribá will still probably not be able to count on the forwards Manu del Moral and Álvaro Giménez and on the team’s captain Edu Albácar, all of them sidelined due to injury.

Last November, when both sides measured forces at Martínez Valero, the visitors proved to be stronger and won the match 2-0 with goals from the inevitable Diego Costa and Koke. Judging by both team’s current forms and all the motivational aspects involved, it is not likely that Elche will be able to hassle Atlético during next Friday’s match.

Atlético Madrid

Stats: W-26 L-3 D-4

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Elche

Stats: W-8 L-14 D-11

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Possible Line-ups

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2) – Courtois - Juanfran - Miranda - Godin - Filipe Luis- Tiago - Gabi - Koke - R. García -  David Villa - Diego Costa

Elche (4-2-3-1) – M. Herrera - Suárez - Botía - Pellegrín - Cisma - R. Pérez - C. Sánchez - Fidel - Coro - J. Márquez - C. Herrera

Prediction: Atlético Madrid 2 Elche 0