Atletico Madrid will be looking to make it four straight victories in La Liga when they welcome high-flying Cadiz to the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday night.
Diego Simeone's side have made an impressive start to the 2020-21 campaign and currently sit fourth in the table, while Cadiz are level on points with the capital giants in fifth but have played two more matches.
Match preview
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Atletico are just three points off the top of the table as things stand and have two games in hand over leaders Real Sociedad. Indeed, a strong start has seen Simeone's team win four and draw two of their six La Liga fixtures, and they will enter this weekend's contest off the back of three straight victories.
Back-to-back 2-0 wins over Celta Vigo and Real Betis were followed by a 3-1 victory at Osasuna last weekend, and the capital giants will be determined to put another three points on the board ahead of their next league game after the international break at home to Barcelona.
Atletico were in Russia on Tuesday evening and shared the points with Lokomotiv Moscow in their third Champions League game of the season, meaning that they will not have had too long to prepare for this contest.
Incredibly, Simeone's side have not lost in the league since the start of February, and this season could present a huge opportunity for the Red and Whites considering the issues facing Barca and Real Madrid.
On paper, Atletico are the huge favourites to triumph on Saturday night, but Cadiz have impressed and indeed surprised many with their performances and results in the early stages of the campaign.
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Cadiz are back at this level of football for the first time since the 2005-06 season, having finished second in the Segunda Division last term. There has been no inferiority complex in the early stages of 2020-21, though, with Alvaro Cervera's side picking up some eye-catching results.
A record of four wins, two draws and two defeats from eight matches has left them in fifth position in the table, and they will bring a five-game unbeaten run into Saturday's contest.
Cadiz's away form this season has been spectacular, picking up 12 points from an available 12 by beating Huesca, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid and Eibar without conceding a single goal.
The Yellow Submarine have actually only scored eight league goals this season, but they have conceded just six times, which is the fourth-best record in the division behind Atletico, Sociedad and Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid La Liga form: WDDWWW
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions): WLWWWD
Cadiz La Liga form: LWDWDW
Team News
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Atletico will again be without the services of Yannick Carrasco, Diego Costa and Sime Vrsaljko through injury, while Vitolo is a doubt for Saturday's clash at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Simeone is expected to make changes from the side that started against Lokomotiv in the Champions League, with Koke and Lucas Torreira likely to feature in the starting XI.
Joao Felix and Luis Suarez should continue as the front two in a 4-4-2 formation, while Angel Correa will be hoping to keep his spot despite pressure from Marcos Llorente.
As for Cadiz, Luismi Quezada, Jose Mari and Nano Mesa are all on the sidelines through injury, while Iza, Marcos Mauro and Alberto Perea will face late fitness tests.
Mari's injury could open the door for Augusto Fernandez to feature in midfield, but the bulk of the side that started the two-goal victory over Eibar last weekend are expected to keep their spots.
Alvaro Negredo and Anthony Lozano have formed an impressive partnership in the final third of the field, and the pair should continue in attack on Saturday night.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Gimenez, Lodi; Correa, Saul, Torreira, Koke; Felix, Suarez
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Akapo, Fali, Cala, Espino; Sanchez, Jonsson, Augusto Fernandez, Alex Fernandez; Lozano, Negredo
We say: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Cadiz
Cadiz's away form this season has been sensational, and they will enter this weekend's contest full of confidence. Atletico can also be pleased with their start to the campaign, though, and we are expecting Simeone's team to edge a very tight encounter in the capital.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atletico Madrid win with a probability of 58.27%. A draw had a probability of 26.1% and a win for Cadiz had a probability of 15.67%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Madrid win was 1-0 with a probability of 17.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.3%) and 2-1 (8.45%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 0-0 (11.8%), while for a Cadiz win it was 0-1 (7.5%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 2.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Atletico Madrid would win this match.
