Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal: Preview and Prediction
Atletico Madrid and Villarreal will lock horns with each other in a top-table clash in the 2022-23 season of La Liga at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday.
Both the teams started the new season with a bang by winning their opening away fixture by a margin of 3-0. Courtesy of their victories, both teams share the pole position in the points table of 2022-23 La Liga. While Atletico Madrid’s win came against Getafe, Villarreal’s came against Valladolid.
The Yellow Submarine have little time to regroup themselves as they hosted Hajduk Split in the UEFA Conference League playoff on Friday. Although Villarreal ended on the winning side, they don’t enjoy the same luxury of freshness as that of Atletico Madrid who has a seven-day gap before their next match.
Current Form
Atletico Madrid had to wait only fifteen minutes to score a goal in their 2022-23 season as Alvaro Morata’s left-footed shot bulged the bottom corner against Getafe. The visitors kept on knocking on the doors and were duly rewarded in the 59th minute when Morata doubled the lead, this time placing the ball on the roof of the net.
Despite two defenders shielding him, Antoine Griezmann found enough space to slam home a ball from outside the box in the 75th minute to win the tie for Atletico Madrid.
After a goalless first half, Villarreal broke the deadlock in the 49th minute through Nicolas Jackson. Substitute Alex Baena scored two goals inside the space of ten minutes to make it 3-0 for the away side against Valladolid.
After being behind by a goal as early as the 2nd minute in their UEFA Europa Conference League fixture against Hajduk Split, Villarreal struck twice inside twenty minutes, first through Jose Luis Morales and the next through an own goal from Marko Livaja.
Morales would add on to his tally in the 36th minute before Gerard Moreno responded with a goal of his own to ensure Villarreal headed into the break with a three-goal advantage. Hajduk did pull one back in the second half through a penalty but it proved to be too little too late.
Head to Head Record
Atletico Madrid and Villarreal have squared off against each other a total of 40 times where the former gained the upper hand 15 times. Villarreal was able to win only 13 of the encounters while the remaining 12 ended in a draw.
Three of their last five meetings ended in the teams sharing the spoils while Atletico Madrid won the remaining two. Villarreal last tasted a victory over their opponents way back in 2018 when the Red and Whites were reduced to ten men.
Team News
The good news for Atletico Madrid is that Jose Maria Gimenez, who missed the encounter against Getafe due to acute tonsillitis, has recovered from his illness and is raring to face Villarreal. In that case, Stefan Savic will have to be content with observing the match from the bench. However, Felipe remains doubtful for the tie as he suffered a knee injury in the pre-season.
Villarreal will once again miss the services of Alberto Moreno, Manu Trigueros, and Kiko Femenia who remain sidelined due to the injuries they picked in the pre-season. Villarreal made a lot of changes for their UEFA Conference League tie but should return to the side that faced Getafe in the La Liga. Alex Baena, who scored two goals off the bench, may get a nod to start the game ahead of Alex Baena.
Predicted Starting XIs
Villarreal (4-4-2): Geronimo Rulli; Alfonso Pedraza, Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Juan Foyth; Dani Parejo, Etienne Capoue, Alex Baena, Yeremy Pino; Nicolas Jackson, Gerard Moreno
Atletico Madrid (5-3-2): Jan Oblak; Nahuel Molina, Jose Maria Gimenez, Axel Witsel, Reinildo Mandava, Saul Niguez; Marcos Llorente, Koke, Thomas Lemar, Alvaro Morata, Joao Felix
Prediction
Atletico Madrid has the advantage of staying fresh in the game but Villarreal has momentum on their side with two back-to-back victories. It is going to be an interesting early season top-of-the-table clash, which we predict to end in a 2-2 draw.