Atlético Madrid host Villarreal on Sunday for their second La Liga meeting at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Diego Simeone’s team arrives in excellent form after a perfect start to the domestic season. Atlético opened with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Málaga CF, showing squad strength as substitutes Lee Kang-in and Álex Baena supplied the goals. Riding strong home momentum carried over from last season’s finish, Los Colchoneros look organised and determined to keep another clean sheet in Madrid.
Atletico Madrid team news
Simeone has a mix of injury problems and welcome returns to manage before today’s game.
The big news is that star forward Julián Álvarez has returned to training after an extended post-tournament break and is fully fit to lead the attack.
However, Atlético will definitely be without main striker Alexander Sørloth, who is out with an ongoing muscle problem. Long-term absentees Thomas Lemar and new defensive signing Cristian Romero are also unavailable due to physical issues.
Simeone is favouring a flexible 1-4-1-4-1 shape, with Koke sitting deep in midfield. He must make difficult selections on the flanks after eye-catching displays from Lee Kang-in and Álex Baena—both of whom came off the bench to score against Málaga CF and are pushing hard to displace Carlos Martín and Arnau Ortiz in the starting lineup.
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup
Possible Atletico Madrid starting XI: Oblak; Llorente, Hancko, Le Normand, Grimaldo; Barrios, Koke; Simeone, Kang-in, Baena; Lookman
When will the match kick off?
The match will kick off at 4pm BST on Sunday, 23rd August.
How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal?
In the UK, the Atlético Madrid vs Villarreal game will be shown live on Premier Sports 1.
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