Atletico Madrid will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga when they continue their domestic campaign at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday night.
Diego Simeone's side are currently fifth in the table, boasting 42 points from 25 matches, while Celta are currently ninth, having collected 32 points from their 25 league games this term.
Match preview
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Atletico have responded impressively to their shock 1-0 home loss to Levante on February 16, beating Osasuna 3-0 in La Liga last weekend before putting in a strong performance against Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Joao Felix's sensational header sent Atletico ahead against Man United, but the visitors managed to level late on through Anthony Elanga, leaving the last-16 tie delicately poised ahead of the second leg.
The Red and Whites will have been pleased with their performance against the 20-time English champions, and it will have handed them confidence heading into Saturday's affair, with Simeone's side set to face Celta, Real Betis and Cadiz in the league before their trip to Old Trafford on March 15.
Atletico are currently fifth in La Liga, some 15 points behind division leaders Real Madrid, but they are level on points with fourth-placed Barcelona and just four points behind third-placed Real Betis, so there is still plenty to play for in the league despite not being in a title race.
The reigning Spanish champions have collected 24 points from their 12 league matches at Wanda Metropolitano this term, but Celta have impressed on their travels, picking up 17 points from 12 games, and the visitors will be the fresher of the two teams heading into the contest.
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Celta are enjoying a strong campaign, boasting a record of eight wins, eight draws and nine defeats from 25 matches, which has seen them collect 32 points to sit ninth in the table.
The Sky Blues are only seven points behind sixth-placed Villarreal and will bring a five-game unbeaten run into this weekend's contest, beating Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano, in addition to drawing with Sevilla, Cadiz and Levante, since their last defeat against Real Sociedad towards the start of January.
Eduardo Coudet's side, as mentioned, have been strong on their travels this term, losing just three of their 12 matches, and they picked up a point against Atletico in the corresponding clash last season.
Celta finished eighth last term and will be setting their sights on the teams above them, but they have some tough matches ahead, facing Atletico, Villarreal and Real Madrid in three of their last five in La Liga.
The visitors have not actually beaten Atletico in Spain's top flight since September 2018 and have lost two of their last three matches against the capital giants, with both of those defeats coming in Vigo.
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Team News
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Atletico will have Yannick Carrasco available after the Belgian missed out against Man United due to a European suspension, and he is expected to return to the starting XI.
Koke, Matheus Cunha and Daniel Wass are all still injured, but Simeone could make changes from the side that started against Man United, with Luis Suarez in line for a spot in the final third of the field.
Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Lemar will also both be pushing for starts, while Felipe, Rodrigo De Paul and Mario Hermoso are also in contention to feature from the first while this weekend.
As for Celta, Nestor Araujo should shake off a knock to feature in the middle of the defence once again, meaning that the visitors could be unchanged from their draw with Levante last time out.
Renato Tapia is pushing for a spot in midfield, but Fran Beltran is again expected to line up in the middle, just behind Brais Mendez, Denis Suarez and Franco Cervi.
Iago Aspas and Santi Mina have scored 18 La Liga goals between them during the 2021-22 campaign, meanwhile, and the pair will continue in the final third of the field.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Vrsaljko, Savic, Gimenez, Reinildo; Llorente, Kondogbia, Herrera, Carrasco; Suarez, Felix
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Mallo, Aidoo, Araujo, Galan; Beltran; Mendez, Suarez, Cervi; Mina, Aspas
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Celta Vigo
Celta are more than capable of finding the back of the net in this match, with Atletico far from watertight at the back this season, but the home side were impressive against Man United for long spells, which should give them the confidence to claim another three points on Saturday evening.
Top tip
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 57.95%. A draw had a probability of 24.2% and a win for Celta Vigo had a probability of 17.82%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Madrid win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.18%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.79%) and 2-1 (9.42%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.32%), while for a Celta Vigo win it was 0-1 (6.81%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Atletico Madrid would win this match.
