Atletico Madrid host lowly Elche on Saturday knowing that there is precious little time to lick their wounds after being dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.
In contrast, Elche travel to the capital hoping to put further distance between themselves and the relegation zone, with six points the gap as it stands.
Atletico Madrid
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The pain of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final exit to city rivals Real will undoubtedly take time to subside, with Javier Hernandez grabbing an 88th-minute winner to seal a 1-0 aggregate win over two fiercely competitive contests.
However, with six points separating third-placed Atletico from Sevilla in fifth, Diego Simeone's troops can ill afford a moment of self-pity as they look to consolidate their spot in the top four and earn another crack at Europe's elite competition next season.
It has been a testing few months for the reigning Liga champions, whose title bid arguably suffered irreversible damage after drawing three straight games with Sevilla, Valencia and Espanyol in early March.
Simeone's charges bounced back with a three-game winning streak but, with nine points now separating them and leaders Barcelona, it appears as if one of Barca or Real will restore the monopoly they had on Spain's top flight prior to Atleti's heroics last term.
Now, it is all about Champions League qualification and the Copa del Rey for the Rojiblancos, who face the Catalan giants in the final on May 30 to salvage something.
Recent form: DWWWDW
Recent form (all competitions): WWDDWL
Elche
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It has been another productive season for Elche, who look like they will defy the odds and preserve their Liga status for the second year running.
Fran Escriba's side beat Real Socedad 1-0 last week to register back-to-back victories for the third time all season, having beaten Cordoba eight days previous, and they appear to be hitting form at just the right time.
That spell has lifted them to 14th in the table, six points clear of danger and it certainly seems as if they will be mixing it with Spain's elite again next season.
However, Los Ilicitanos cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Visiting the Vicente Calderon is undoubtedly the toughest of their six remaining games, but there are several other tricky encounters on the horizon and defeat against Atleti may set the tone for an unnecessarily nervy finale to the season.
They have visits to Malaga and Villarreal coming up in May and Escriba will be keen to see his troops build on their recent wins rather than let the hard work go to waste and get sucked back into the dogfight.
Recent form: LLDLWW
Team News
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Mario Suarez could miss the visit of Elche with a hamstring problem in Simeone's one and only injury concern.
The 28-year-old midfielder has missed their last two games and, despite training on Thursday, Suarez is not expected to be given a spot in the first XI.
Meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann, who has netted six times in his last four games, could lead the line alongside Mario Mandzukic yet again.
Elche have been rocked by the news that Jose Angel's season is over, with the defender, who has made 13 league appearances in 2014-15, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Towering striker Jonathas, who grabbed his 10th of the season in their win over Sociedad, is expected to spearhead their attack once more.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Gamez; Tiago, Koke; Raul Garcia, Turan, Mandzukic, Griezmann
Elche possible starting lineup:
Tyton, Suarez, Roco, Lomban, Domingo, Mosquera, Aaron, Rodriguez, Pasalic Fajr, Jonathas
Head To Head
Atletico won the reverse fixture 2-0 back in December, and both games last season by the same scoreline. Overall, they have come out on top in five of the seven meetings between the sides, with Elche winning two Segunda Division clashes back in 2001 and 2002.
We say: Atletico Madrid 3-0 Elche
Despite the disappointment of exiting the Champions League, we reckon that Atletico will bounce back in style and cruise to victory over Escriba's side.
Shane Callaghan
