Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Atleticovs.Las Palmas

sportsmole.co.uk, 1 November 2024, 11:27
Atletico Madrid will be aiming to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they welcome an in-form Las Palmas to Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday afternoon.

The home side are currently fourth in the La Liga table, 10 points behind the leaders Barcelona, while Las Palmas sit 18th, picking up nine points from their opening 11 matches of the 2024-25 campaign.

Match preview

Atletico boast a record of five wins, five draws and one defeat from 11 La Liga matches this season, with a total of 20 points leaving them in fourth spot in the table, four points behind second-placed Real Madrid and 10 from leaders Barcelona.

Diego Simeone's side suffered back-to-back defeats towards the end of last month, going down 3-1 at home to Lille in the Champions League before losing 1-0 at Real Betis in La Liga.

However, the Red and Whites did manage to return to winning ways on Thursday evening, with Julian Alvarez netting a brace in a 2-0 success over Vic in the Copa del Rey to send the capital team into the second round of the competition.

Atletico have work to do in the Champions League, having lost two of their three matches in this season's competition to sit down in 27th spot in the table, while they have only actually won two of their last seven games in all competitions.

Simeone's team will be the huge favourites to overcome Las Palmas this weekend, though, and they recorded a 5-0 victory in the corresponding clash between the two sides during the 2023-24 campaign.

Las Palmas have had a tricky start to the season, but Diego Martinez's side will enter this match in excellent form, having won their last three matches in all competitions, including two La Liga games.

Pio Pio beat Valencia 3-2 on October 21 to record their first league victory of the season, and they followed that result with a 1-0 win over Girona last weekend, with Alex Munoz netting the only goal of the contest in the 42nd minute.

Las Palmas' winning run continued in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, as they put seven unanswered goals past Ontinena in the first round of the competition, so the team will be chasing a fourth straight success on Sunday afternoon.

Los Amarillos finished 16th in La Liga last term, and they are enjoying their best run at this level of football since 2018, while their recent run should hand them confidence when it comes to their battle to stay out of the relegation zone.

Las Palmas have conceded 18 goals in their last four defeats to Atletico in Spain's top flight, but they did record a 2-1 victory over the capital outfit when the two teams locked horns at Estadio Gran Canaria in November 2023.

Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

D

W

D

D

W

L

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

L

D

W

L

L

W

Las Palmas La Liga form:

L

D

L

L

W

W

Las Palmas form (all competitions):

D

L

L

W

W

W

Team News

Atletico boss Simeone will ring the changes from the Copa del Rey clash on Thursday night, with Koke, Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak, Rodrigo De Paul, Jose Gimenez and Samuel Lino among those set to return.

Cesar Azpilicueta, Clement Lenglet, Pablo Barrios, Marcos Llorente and Robin Le Normand are again unavailable for selection due to injury problems, while Thomas Lemar had to be substituted after coming off the bench against Vic last time out.

Alexander Sorloth is expected to start on the bench on Sunday, with Alvarez and Griezmann likely to operate as a front two.

As for Las Palmas, Marvin Park and Adnan Januzaj remain unavailable due to injury problems, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape heading into their clash with Atletico.

Head coach Martinez is expected to name the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Girona in the league last weekend, with Fabio Silva again set to lead the line.

Jaime Mata scored four in a stunning performance against Ontinena in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, but it is still might not be enough for him to feature in the starting side at Wanda Metropolitano.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; De Paul, Koke, Gallagher, Lino; Alvarez, Griezmann

Las Palmas possible starting lineup:

Cillessen; Rozada, Suarez, McKenna, Munoz; Essugo, Campana; Fuster, K Rodriguez, Moleiro; Silva

We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Las Palmas

Las Palmas will enter this match full of confidence, and Atletico are yet to find their best form this season; we are expecting a close match on Sunday, with Las Palmas having a goal in them against a strong Atletico defence, but the home side should have enough quality to navigate their way to all three points.

Previews by email

Top News

15 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to offer Joshua Zirkzee in a player-plus-cash bid for Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Mohamed Salah and Liverpool could be open to the idea of compromising on a contract extension of two years given the forward has long indicated that his clear preference would be to stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England interim boss Lee Carsley has revealed the reason behind his decision to omit Harry Kane from the starting lineup for the 3-0 UEFA Nations League win over Greece. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England moved to the top of their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group on Thursday evening courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Didier Deschamps was left frustrated on Thursday as his France side failed to capitalise on their dominance against Israel, being held to a 0-0 draw, though they still progressed to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals after Italy beat Belgium in the other League A Group 2 fixture. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England have risen to the top of Group 2 of League B in the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece in Athens on Thursday night. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sandro Tonali's first international goal was enough to send Italy through to the finals of the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 1-0 win away in Belgium this evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea Women and Manchester City Women will go head-to-head in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash at Stamford Bridge. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola has asked Manchester City to sign two defenders in 2025, according to a report. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Nassr centre-back Aymeric Laporte has said that he is open to making the move to Real Madrid. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona sporting director Deco has said that his club are not planning to be active during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Moldova can boost their hopes of securing promotion from League D Group 2 in the UEFA Nations League when they face fellow European minnows Andorra at Estadi Nacional on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Montenegro welcome Iceland to Stadion Kraj Bistrice in Niksic for their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal Women and Tottenham Hotspur Women will be looking to secure derby bragging rights when they face off in Saturday's Women's Super League clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Nacho has ruled out the possibility of returning to Real Madrid amid suggestions that Los Blancos were considering making an attempt to re-sign him during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams with contrasting objectives in the National League are set to meet at the Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday, as promotion hopefuls Gateshead host relegation-threatened Aldershot Town. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim will reportedly take Manchester United training for the first time on Monday, with the club confident that his visa will have arrived in time for him to officially get on the grass next week. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has said that a back issue forced Lisandro Martinez to pull out of the squad for the national team's upcoming 2026 World Cup qualification matches with Paraguay and Peru. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has reportedly set his sights on an exit from the club next summer, and plans to take key man Alex Grimaldo with him. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Locked together at the top of League C Group 1 with two games to play, Sweden and Slovakia will battle it out to take the outright lead when they meet on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal will reportedly allow out-of-favour defender Jakub Kiwior to leave the club on loan in January. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Wales travel to the Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri to face Turkey in their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona midfielder Pablo Torre has not ruled out the possibility of leaving the club in January, after seeing his game time reduced recently. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to narrow their gap to the top two in the League One table with a third consecutive victory, Barnsley will visit the Abbey Stadium to take on Cambridge United on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Isak has delivered a fresh update on his future at Newcastle United, amid reported interest from a number of clubs including Arsenal. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United Women will attempt to claim back-to-back victories when they travel to the Broadfield Stadium for Saturday's Women's Super League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion Women. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Roma have confirmed the appointment of 73-year-old Claudio Ranieri as their new first-team manager until the end of the season. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has revealed that he was "desperate" to join Chelsea in 2022. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal could rival Manchester City and Liverpool for the signature of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly weighing up whether to make a move for in-form PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi.