The top club from the capital finished third in La Liga last season but lost out to Real Madrid and Barcelona both in the league and other competitions. The new campaign started shakily. However, they have already collected twelve points in the Champions League, and this week advanced past Deportivo in the Copa del Rey. On the other hand, they were immediately beaten by Real Madrid in the Super Cup. In La Liga, having closed the gap to Barcelona, they lost to both them and, right after, to Athletic. January also began with just a draw against Real Sociedad.
The team from Vitoria is quite stable—even if that means staying in the lower half of the table, but still above the relegation zone. It was the same last season, when they finished fifteenth on tiebreakers with 42 points. This season hasn’t been much better: they lose about half their matches, but still manage to keep a safe distance from the bottom three. However, a 1-1 draw with Oviedo was a clear misstep. As expected, little went right against Villarreal in the previous round. At least they managed to beat Rayo Vallecano in the cup this week.
The Madrid giants average 1.79 goals scored and 0.89 conceded per match. Eduardo Coudet’s side averages 0.84 goals scored and 1.26 conceded per match.
Atletico have won five of their last seven matches
58% of Atletico Madrid’s matches end with both teams scoring, with an average total of 2.68 goals per game
Alaves have won two of their last six matches
53% of Alaves’ matches end with both teams scoring, with an average total of 2.11 goals per game.
Atletico (probable lineup): Oblak – Ruggeri, Gantzko, Pubil, Llorente – Alex Baena, Koke, Barrios, Simeone – Alvarez, Sorloth.
Alaves (probable lineup): Sivera – Enriquez, Pacheco, Tenaglia, Castro – Alena, Antonio Blanco, Denis Suarez, Ibanez, Kalebe – Toni Martinez.
