Leganesvs.Atletico

Diego Simeone's side are on an extraordinary run, which has helped them move to the top of the La Liga table, and the capital giants will be bidding to record their 14th league success of the campaign in this weekend's clash with 16th-placed Leganes.

Match preview

Leganes boast a record of four wins, seven draws and eight defeats from their 19 La Liga matches this season, with a total of 19 points leaving them in 16th spot in the table, three points above the relegation zone.

Borja Jimenez's side are the reigning Segunda Division champions, and any spot over 18th would be considered a successful campaign, so by that standard, it has been a solid season to date, but there is still a lot of work to do.

El Lega were in Copa del Rey action on Wednesday night, booking their spot in the quarter-finals of the competition courtesy of a 3-2 success over Almeria, but their last league match ended in a 1-1 draw with Espanyol on January 11.

Leganes have actually only lost one of their last five matches in all competitions, and they beat Barcelona 1-0 away from home towards the end of last year, which would have given their confidence a huge boost.

Jimenez's team have struggled in front of their own fans this season, only picking up 10 points from their nine matches on home soil, but Atletico have dropped points in four of their nine matches on their travels during the 2024-25 campaign.

Atletico are currently on their best run of form in their entire history, having posted 15 straight wins in all competitions, and the capital giants will now have their eyes on a 16th in a row on Saturday afternoon.

Simeone's side were also in Copa del Rey action on Wednesday, thumping Elche 4-0 to secure their spot in the final eight, while they have been victorious in each of their last eight league games, including a 1-0 success over Osasuna last weekend.

The Red and Whites are currently top of the La Liga table, one point ahead of second-placed Real Madrid and six points clear of third-placed Barcelona, with their success again being built on a strong defensive record, conceding just 12 times in 19 matches.

Atletico have found the back of the net on 34 occasions in their 19 league games, though, with Alexander Sorloth managing eight in Spain's top flight, while Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez have seven and six respectively.

Simeone's team are very much in the title picture at this stage, but they have work to do in the Champions League, with the capital giants currently 11th in the overall table, boasting 12 points from six matches.

Atletico last lifted the La Liga title in 2020-21, and they have been third, third and fourth in their last three campaigns, so it would be some achievement to finish at the top of the pile this term ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Leganes La Liga form:

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Leganes form (all competitions):

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Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Leganes will be without the services of Enric Franquesa due to a muscular problem, while Juan Soriano, Jorge Saenz and Oscar Rodriguez are all out of the contest through suspensions.

Head coach Jimenez will make changes from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Almeria in the Copa del Rey, with Miguel de la Fuente among those set to return to the XI.

There will also be spots in the team for Juan Cruz, Dani Raba and Yvan Neyou, while Valentin Rosier is likely to start ahead of Adria Alti despite the latter's strong performance in the contest with Almeria.

As for Atletico, Jose Gimenez remains unavailable for selection through injury, but the capital giants are otherwise in excellent shape.

Head coach Simeone will make changes to the side that started against Elche in the Copa del Rey, with Sorloth expected to miss out on a spot in the XI despite his brace in the cup fixture.

Sorloth has scored 10 times in 27 appearances this season, but he is not currently a part of Simeone's La Liga XI, with Alvarez set to feature alongside Griezmann in the final third of the field this weekend.

Rodrigo de Paul, Javi Galan, Giuliano Simeone, Jan Oblak and Pablo Barrios will also be back in the side on Saturday after being named on the bench for the fixture with Elche.

Leganes possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; Rosier, Tapia, Gonzalez, Nastasic, Cruz; Raba, Cisse, Neyou, Brasanac; De la Fuente

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez

We say: Leganes 0-2 Atletico Madrid

Atletico are simply a winning machine at the moment, and we are finding it so difficult to back against them here; this will be the first La Liga meeting between the two teams at the home of Leganes since August 2019 - it was 1-0 to the Red and Whites on that occasion, and we are backing another success for the visitors on Saturday.

Written by

Matt Law

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