Atlético Madrid vs Villarreal Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Joel Amorim Feb 19, 2016 @ 01:30 am

Next Sunday, 21st of February 2016, Atlético Madrid will measure forces with a highly motivated Villarreal at the emblematic Vicente Calderón for the last match of the Round 25 of the Spanish Liga BBVA.

Getafe gave Atlético a hard day at the job when both teams met at the Comunidad de Madrid derby last weekend. Los Colchoneros clawed the three points thanks to an early goal by Fernando Torres, who netted his fourth goal of the current season, but it wasn’t by any means an easy match for them. Los Azulones had several chances to score, but Atlético’s goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, managed to frustrate the intents of the Madrid outskirts’ team. Los Colchoneros, themselves, had some good chances to score the second goal, but in the end, it was Torres’ goal that decided the match.

Early in the second-half, Atlético’s midfielder Ferreira Carrasco suffered a serious ankle injury that will keep him sidelined for several weeks.

For next Sunday’s important match against Villarreal, Diego “El Cholo” Simeone will also not be able to rely on the services of the Uruguayan centre back José Giménez, who is currently suspended, and on the contribution of Tiago and Augusto Fernández, who are recovering from their respective injuries.

As for Villarreal, El Submarino Amarillo is currently on a six-match undefeated streak and they are certainly hoping to cause Atlético a major upset next Sunday.

Last weekend at El Madrigal, Villarreal overcame an usually complicated opponent, Málaga, by 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal by Roberto Soldado. Marcelino Toral’s men were the better team throughout the entire match and could have even scored more goals if it wasn’t for the excellent performance put up by Málaga’s Cameroonian goalkeeper, Carlos Kameni.

To increase the team’s confidence levels, Villarreal clawed an important 1-0 win over Napoli for the first-leg of the UEFA Europa League 1/16 finals. The Spanish wonder boy Denis Suárez netted the only goal of the night and he was once again the man of the match.

For next weekend’s visit to Vicente Calderón, Marcelino Toral will not be able to rely on the services of Eric Bailly and Samu Garcia, who are currently sidelined due to injury.

Atlético Madrid

Stats: W-2 L-2 D-1

Recent Form - WWLLD

Villarreal

Stats: W-3 L-0 D-2

Recent Form - WWDWD

Possible Line-ups

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2) - Oblak - Juanfran - Filipe Luis - Godin - Savic - Koke - Gabi - Niguez - Oliver - Griezmann - Fernando Torres

Villarreal (4-4-2) - Areola - Mario - Musacchio - Ruiz - Costa - dos Santos - Bruno - Trigueros - Suárez- Bakambu - Soldado

Injury List / Suspended Players

Atlético Madrid - Tiago (inj) - Augusto Fernández (inj) - Giménez (sus) - Carrasco (inj)

Villarreal - Eric Bailly (inj) - Samu Garcia (inj)

Head-to-head matches:

League Positions