Preview: Granada vs. Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Saturday's La Liga action kicks off with Atletico Madrid 's clash with eighth-placed Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.

Atleti, who have still only lost one league game so far this season, will be looking to get back to winning ways after they were held to a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo last time out.

Match preview

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For a team that prides themselves on their mechanical consistency and ability to grind out narrow wins, there was a sense of unease in the capital when Diego Simeone 's men failed to see off the Galician outfit last time out.

Of course, thanks to a brace from star striker Luis Suarez, Los Colchoneros were unlucky not to take all three points from the tie, with Atleti only undone by an 89th-minute strike from Facundo Ferreyra.

Despite the stalemate, there was plenty of praise for Suarez, with the Uruguayan veteran netting his 16th goal of the season and fifth brace.

Talking to the press, the 34-year-old said: "[Simeone] is one of those coaches who convinces you by his desire and positivity and by everything he knows about this. I rely more on the coach's conviction when speaking to you than on the style of play he has."

However, there is a very good chance that Simeone's positivity will have taken a hit after it was revealed that another cohort of Aleti players were forced to isolate due to COVID-19. A total of five first-team players will now be unavailable for this tie.

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After a solid start to the campaign, Granada have blown hot and cold in recent weeks.

Diego Martinez 's side, who face Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League clash next week, have not won a game in four league outings and look desperate to overcome their dip in form.

However, beating Atleti may be a step too far for Granada, who have failed to win any of their last 20 league games against Los Colchoneros and failed to score in 13 of them.

Against Levante last time out, the Andalusians only managed to come away with one point thanks to an injury-time equaliser from Roberto Soldado.

Should the 35-year-old poacher start on Saturday, the game could well be decided by the efforts of either Soldado or Suarez, two strikers who are thoroughly enjoying the twilight of their careers.

Granada La Liga form: LWDLDD

Granada form (all competitions): DLWDLD

Atletico Madrid La Liga form: WWWWWD

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions): LWWWWD

Team News

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Atleti will be without Thomas Lemar, Hector Herrera, Joao Felix, Mario Hermoso and new boy Moussa Dembele, who are all unavailable due to COVID-19.

Kieran Trippier is still serving his suspension but midfielder Yannick Carrasco is likely to return to the starting XI this weekend.

Martinez is dealing with his own injury crisis at Granada.

Domingos Quina, Yan Brice, Yangel Herrera, Luis Milla, Neyder Lozano and Maxime Gonalons will all be unavailable for this tie.

Granada possible starting lineup:

Silva; Duarte, Perez, Vallejo; Foulquier, Eteki, Angel Montoro, Marin; Kenedy, Soldado, Suarez

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Savic, Gimenez, Felipe; Llorente, Kondogbia, Koke, Saul, Carrasco; Correa, Suarez

We say: Granada 1-2 Atletico Madrid

Simeone's COVID-19 crisis has impacted performances in recent weeks and, if anything will trip Atleti up this weekend, it will be their lack of first-team regulars in the side. However, it is very unlikely that Atleti will fail to win twice in two league outings, so we are going with a 2-1 scoreline to the visitors.

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