Atlético Madrid's title hopes are real and very much alive with Diego Simeone's side sitting in first place in La Liga. With seven matches to play, including Saturday, Atléti simply need to continue to get results to break the 10-year stranglehold on the league title by Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Atlético Madrid vs. Villarreal: Preview and TV schedule
Atlético Madrid must find a way to win without their star striker Diego Costa.
Simeone will have to deal with an annoying injury to star striker Diego Costa, who will miss the match with a hamstring problem. David Villa is more than capable of filling in, but Costa has been the man with the ability to find goals when it seems like Atléti aren’t going to be able to get one. It will definitely put some more emphasis on the strong Atléti defense.
Villarreal have fallen back just a bit in the chase for fourth place thanks to recent dip in form. Just one victory in their last six matches has seen the Yellow Submarine fall seven point behind Athletic Bilbao.
Atlético Madrid injuries and suspensions
Out: Diego Costa (hamstring), Javier Gaitan (neck), Gabi (suspended). In Doubt: Arda Turan (groin).
Villarreal injuries and suspensions
Out: Oliver (shoulder), Giovani dos Santos (hamstring), Jaume Coasta (suspended).
Diego Costa’s hamstring is not torn, but Atléti’s leading scorer will miss Saturday’s match, leaving David Villa to lead the attack. Arda Turan has said he plans to play but will still face a fitness test on his injured groin.
Projected lineups
Atlético Madrid: Thibault Courtois, Filipe Luis, Diego Godín, João Miranda, Juanfran, Tiago Mendes, Mario Suárez, Koke, Arda Turan, David Villa, Raul García.
Villarreal: Sergio Asenjo, Bojan Jokić, Alkesandar Pantić, Gabriel Paulista, Mario Gaspar, Bruno Soriano, Tomás Pina, Cani, Moi Gómez, Jonathan Pereira, Jérémy Perbet.
Match Date/Time: 4 p.m. local, 10 a.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain
TV: beIN Sports USA, beIN Sports en Español (U.S.)
Online: beIN Sports Play (U.S.), beIN Sports Play (Canada)
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