Preview: Atletico Madrid vs. Villarreal - prediction, team news, lineups

Atletico Madrid will be aiming to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they welcome Villarreal to Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday evening.

Diego Simeone's side, who are fourth in the La Liga table, suffered a 2-1 defeat to Las Palmas last Friday, while 13th-placed Villarreal were beaten 3-2 by Athletic Bilbao in their last league affair.

Match preview

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Atletico saw a six-game winning run in Spain's top flight come to an end last Friday, when they were beaten 2-1 by Las Palmas, and they have now dropped to fourth position in the table.

Simeone's team have still made a strong start to the campaign, though, picking up 25 points from their opening 11 matches, which has left them six points off leaders Girona, crucially with a game in hand.

The Red and Whites were back to winning ways in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, recording a thumping 6-0 win over Celtic, with Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata both scoring twice in what was an outstanding performance from the home side at Wanda Metropolitano.

Atletico are now top of Group E on eight points, two points ahead of third-placed Feyenoord, with the capital outfit in a strong position to advance to the knockout round of the competition.

Simeone's side will now be aiming to return to winning ways in the league ahead of the November international break, but they have not actually beaten Villarreal in La Liga since February 2021.

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Three of the last four La Liga meetings between these two sides have finished level, but Villarreal beat Atletico 2-0 in the corresponding match at Wanda Metropolitano last term.

Somewhat surprisingly, Atletico have not overcome Villarreal at home in the league since February 2020, and the Yellow Submarine will enter this match in good form, having been victorious in three of their last four matches in all competitions.

Villarreal have found it difficult to really get going thus far this season, with a total of 12 points from 12 matches leaving them down in 13th position in the La Liga table, and the decision was made on Friday to dismiss Pacheta as head coach.

Pacheta's side suffered a 3-2 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the league last weekend; they will enter this match off the back of a victory, having overcome Maccabi Haifa in the Europa League on Thursday night, but the team are now searching for their third manager of the campaign.

The Yellow Submarine are second in Group F on six points in the Europa League, three points behind leaders Rennes and two ahead of third-placed Panathinaikos, while they have a game in hand on both of those sides.

Team News

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Atletico will be missing Memphis Depay, Thomas Lemar, Vitolo and Reinildo for this contest, but Simeone's side did not pick up any fresh problems against Celtic last time out.

Griezmann operated in a deeper area against the Scottish giants, with Angel Correa being introduced in the final third alongside Morata, and that might again be the case this weekend.

Rodrigo De Paul missed out in the Champions League through suspension, but he will be back for this match and should feature in central midfield, while there could be a spot on the left for Samuel Lino.

As for Villarreal, Juan Foyth, Gerard Moreno, Alfonso Pedraza, Denis Suarez and Francis Coquelin will miss Sunday's contest due to injury problems.

There will make a number of changes to the side that started in the Europa League on Thursday, with Yeremy Pino potentially being introduced in the final third of the field, and sporting director Miguel Angel Tena is set to lead the team following Pacheta's dismissal.

Alex Baena, Dani Parejo and Etienne Capoue should all be back in midfield for the Yellow Submarine, while Raul Albiol and Filip Jorgensen are also likely to be recalled for this contest.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Molina, Savic, Gimenez, Hermoso, Lino; De Paul, Koke, Griezmann; Correa, Morata

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Jorgensen; Alti, Albiol, Gabbia, A Moreno; Akhomach, Capoue, Parejo, Baena; Sorloth, Pino

We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Villarreal

Villarreal have shown improvement of late, but they are well below the team that impressed for long stages of last season, and we are finding it tough to predict them to pick up a positive result here. Atletico will be desperate to return to winning ways in the league, and Simeone's side should have enough quality to secure all three points this weekend.

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