Atletico Madrid vs Valencia Preview

Atlético Madrid will return to league action this Sunday when they welcome Valencia to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

The hosts were in Copa del Rey action in midweek beating Sevilla 1-0 to advance to the semifinals despite in-form star striker Antoine Griezmann missing a penalty. That win was Atlético’s third win on the spin following wins over Real Madrid (Copa del Rey) and Granada (La Liga) so they will be looking to record four consecutive wins in all competitions for the second time this season when Valencia visits.

Diego Simeone’s side are La Liga’s fourth-best side this season, having taken 41 points from their first 20 games (W13, D2, L5). But at home they are statistically the second-best side in the Spanish top flight this season having dropped points just once at home in the league (W9, D1).

Their unbeaten home record stretches way back and is also the same in this fixture as the hosts are unbeaten in this fixture at home since 2011 (W9, D4). They have won each of the last three La Liga head-to-head meetings at home, scoring 3+ goals on each occasion so fans may be expecting another goal fest here.

Meanwhile, Valencia are looking to continue their strong La Liga form having won their last four league games. The visitors have enjoyed a solid start to the new year and as a result are currently seventh position in the league, three points behind the European spots.

A strong second half of the season is required by Rubén Baraja’s side if they want to do better than their seventh-place finish of last season and end this campaign inside La Liga’s top five for the first time since the 2018/19 season.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera Liga:

Spanish Primera Liga Table