Since the turn of the year, it almost feels like Atletico Madrid have lurched from disaster to disaster. In five Primera Division matches they’ve earned only four points, and for the first time all season they’ve slipped to three successive defeats. If the capital side are to avoid making it an unwelcome four, they must improve against Valencia on Saturday evening.
Last weekend, Atleti came under the spell of Barcelona and Lionel Messi, though los Colchoneros didn’t make life especially difficult for the Catalans. Defensively, Quique Sanchez Flores’ side continue to be a shambles, and as a result, the coach is starting to come under severe scrutiny, which will only heighten with a negative weekend result.
“Clearly, there is much concern with what happens in the team. These players are currently giving no joy to the fans. It is time to get back to winning,” club president Enrique Cerezo told AS earlier this week.
“I do not know what’s wrong, I do not think that they have forgotten how to win, I always said that if we do not get in the top four, then the season would be a failure.”
It would take a miracle for Atleti to reach the Champions League spots. Presently they boast 30 points, 14 points behind los Che, who lie in fourth. As a result, Diego Forlan has accepted the best that can be attained is a Europa League spot.
Gunning For Third
Unai Emery may not necessarily be a favourite of the Mestalla crowd, but few will be complaining of the results the young coach has attained over the last couple of months with Valencia. From the last seven league matches of the east coast club, a highly impressive six have been won, meaning that they’ve moved firmly into the top four, six points clear of Athletic Bilbao in fifth.
Champions League football looks likely to be won by los Che, but they must secure this prize. A 1-1 draw away to Racing Santander a couple of weeks ago represented a minor hiccup, but Valencia were back on form against Hercules last Sunday, when goals from Aritz Aduriz and Tino Costa guided them to a comfortable 2-0 success.
“We are happy with the win, but there is still room for improvement in various aspects of our game,” Unai Emery explained to the media after the game, before underlining his desire to challenge Villarreal for third. “We know that we cannot catch up to the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid. But we are on a level playing field with Villarreal and matches against them will be decided by the small details.”
In most campaigns, Valencia’s impressive tally of 45 points would be enough to have them considering an outside chance of the title, but such is the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid, that is simply not the case. Third is instead los Che’s ultimate goal, and if they were to claim a win on Saturday, they would take a giant step towards that.
TEAM NEWS
Atletico
Mario Suarez has overcome a hamstring problem and will be involved in the squad, but Filipe is ruled out. David de Gea is a slight doubt after picking up an injury with the Spain Under-21 squad and has been reduced to individual training.
Valencia
Juan Mata missed out on Spain Under-21 duty in midweek due to an ankle injury, but it’s thought he’ll be fine to feature at the weekend. David Albelda, Vicente Rodriguez, Miguel Moya and Cesar Sanchez are still out.
Ricardo Costa returns after suspension.
Prediction
These two sides could not be in any more contrasting form. Atletico Madrid are in their worst period of the season, while Valencia are in their best. Los Che haven’t always served to convince during their recent purple patch, and Atleti are certainly capable of far better. Expect the hosts to regain some pride by earning an exciting draw.
Atletico Madrid 2-2 Valencia 
