SM
Barcelona vs. Brann: 8 hrs 56 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
AL
La Liga | Gameweek 17
Jan 3, 2021 at 3.15pm UK
Mendizorroza, Vitoria, Basque Country
AM

Alaves
1 - 2
Atletico

Felipe (84' og.)
Laguardia (63')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Llorente (41'), Suarez (90')
Carrasco (29'), Suarez (90+3')

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

:Headline: Preview: Alaves vs. Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups: ID:428781: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews Sunday's La Liga clash between Alaves and Atletico Madrid, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Atletico Madrid will be looking to make it four straight La Liga victories when they continue their 2020-21 campaign away to Alaves on Sunday afternoon.

Diego Simeone's side are currently top of the table with two games in hand, while Alaves have made a solid start to the campaign, picking up 18 points from 16 matches to occupy 13th position.


Match preview

Alaves are actually operating in their fifth straight season at this level of football, but they only just stayed up last term, finishing 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone.

El Glorioso will be relatively pleased with their start to the 2020-21 campaign, winning four, drawing six and losing six of their 16 matches to collect 18 points, which is enough for 13th spot in the table.

The Basque side are just three points clear of the bottom three but only one point off ninth-placed Cadiz, which is an indication of how the division stands heading into the next set of fixtures.

Pablo Machin's side have only lost two of their eight home league matches this season and picked up a point against Atletico in the corresponding match during the 2019-20 campaign, meaning that they will enter the contest in a relatively confident mood.

Atletico, meanwhile, will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a 1-0 win over Getafe on Wednesday night, with Luis Suarez scoring the only goal of the match in the 20th minute.

Simeone's side have beaten Elche, Real Sociedad and now Getafe in the league since losing 2-0 at Real Madrid on December 12, and the Red and Whites are in a very strong position in the table.

Real Madrid are second and would actually go one point above Atletico with a victory over Celta Vigo on Saturday night, but the latter would then have three games in hand over their bitter rivals.

Indeed, a record of 11 wins, two draws and one defeat from 14 matches has left Simeone's team at the summit, two points clear of second-placed Real Madrid with two matches in hand.

Barcelona are 10 points off the top and have played a game more, meanwhile, meaning that it would take some collapse from the current leaders to allow Ronald Koeman's side to join the race at this stage.

Alaves La Liga form: WDLLWD
Alaves form (all competitions): DLWLWD

Atletico Madrid La Liga form: WWLWWW
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions): WLWWWW


Team News

Alaves will be without the services of experienced midfielder Tomas Pina on Sunday through suspension due to the booking that he picked up in the 1-1 draw with Osasuna on Thursday.

Rodrigo Battaglia will be back from a ban of his own, however, and should take Pina's spot in the side.

Rodrigo Ely and Pere Pons remain on the sidelines through injury, but Machin's team did not pick up any fresh fitness concerns during the clash on December 31.

There is expected to be a change in the final third of the field, though, with Lucas Perez likely to replace Deyverson, who was withdrawn at the interval last time out.

As for Atletico, Hector Herrera and Ivo Grbic remain unavailable for selection through injury and coronavirus respectively, while Kieran Trippier will again be absent as he serves an FA suspension.

Trippier's absence should see Sime Vrsaljko earn another start as the right-sided wing-back, while Suarez is likely to again be joined in the final third of the field by Joao Felix.

There will have to be a change at the back as Stefan Savic is suspended due to the yellow card that he picked up against Getafe, with Jose Gimenez in line to come into the side.

Saul Niguez is pushing for a spot in the middle of the park, meanwhile, and the Spaniard could get the nod over Thomas Lemar to start alongside Koke and Marcos Llorente.

Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Navarro, Laguardia, Lejeune, Duarte; Mendez, Battaglia, M Garcia, Rioja; Joselu, Perez

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Gimenez, Felipe, Hermoso; Vrsaljko, Llorente, Koke, Saul, Carrasco; Felix, L Suarez


We say: Alaves 0-2 Atletico Madrid

Alaves are certainly capable of making it a difficult 90 minutes for Simeone's side, but we are finding it very difficult to back against the leaders, who are very much on the title charge. Atletico ran out 2-0 winners in their last away match against Sociedad, and we are predicting the same scoreline in this contest.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals 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.Over 1.5:data



amp_article__428781 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2021-01-01 13:01:54:
html db last update - 2021-03-10 21:44:51 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Read more!
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid29226164204472
2Barcelona29197360342664
3GironaGirona29195559342562
4Athletic Bilbao29168550262456
5Atletico MadridAtletico29174854342055
6Real Sociedad291210742311146
7Real BetisBetis29101273433142
8Valencia28117103232040
9Villarreal29108114751-438
10Getafe2991193742-538
11Las PalmasLas Palmas29107122932-337
12Osasuna29106133343-1036
13AlavesAlaves2988132635-932
14Mallorca29612112535-1030
15Rayo Vallecano29611122538-1329
16Sevilla29610133644-828
17Celta Vigo2969143244-1227
18CadizCadiz29313132040-2022
19Granada2828183058-2814
20Almeria29110182857-2913
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .