Overview
Atletico Madrid have just regained the joy of victory when defeating Sevilla 2-1 right at Ramon Sanchez pizjuan, thanks to Pablo Barrios' decisive goal in extra time.
However, the 2024-2025 season is still falling out of reach of coach Diego Simeone's team. They were eliminated from the Champions League and Copa del Rey respectively, while their chances of winning La Liga were very low.
Atletico are currently ranked 3rd in La Liga, 10 points behind leaders Barcelona but have played 1 match less. With the season entering the final stages, Atletico understand that they need to maintain their winning momentum to be ready to break away if Barcelona or Real Madrid make mistakes in the coming rounds.
Meanwhile, Real Valladolid are all but sure of their relegation ticket. Coach Alvaro Rubio's team is in the bottom of the table with only 16 points after 30 matches, 14 points behind safety with only 8 rounds left in the season.
Valladolid has not known the taste of victory in the last 11 matches in La Liga, including 4 consecutive defeats in the past time.
In addition, Valladolid is also the team with the worst attack (19 goals) and worst defense (69 goals conceded) in La Liga this year.
In general, the prospect of Valladolid being able to create a surprise against Atletico Madrid is unlikely. Remember, they were 5 goals late in the first leg despite having home advantage.
Personnel situation
Rodrigo De Paul is uncertain to play for the home side. Therefore, Koke could appear in Atletico Madrid's midfield. Samuel Lino also has physical concerns as he enters the game.
On the other side of the front line, the away team will have at least one change after Mario Martin received a red card in the match against Getafe. Interim coach Alvaro Rubio could also change in other positions, as he tries to prevent a decline in form.
Expected lineup:
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Galan, Lenglet, Gimenez, Llorente, Gallagher, Barrios, Koke, Simeone, Alvarez, Griezmann.
Real Valladolid: Ferreira, Aznou, D. Torres, J. Sanchez, Candela, Juric, Nikitscher, Moro, Amallah, I. Sanchez, Sylla.
The match between Atletico Madrid and Valladolid takes place at 2:00 am on April 15 (Vietnam time).
