Valencia vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Prediction

Atletico Madrid feature in another important La Liga fixture this week as they take on Valencia at the Estadio de Mestalla on Monday. Both teams have impressive players in their ranks and have a point to prove in this fixture.

Led by new manager Gennaro Gattuso, the hosts have been on both ends of a 1-0 scoreline in their opening two league outings, beating promoted Girona at home before losing at Athletic Bilbao.

Not much seems to have changed at Valencia after they sacked former boss Jose Bordalas in favour of the ex-AC Milan and Napoli tactician, with Los Che still hopeful of bettering last season’s mid-table finish.

Atletico’s upcoming visit to the Mestalla presents Gattuso with the challenging task of beating an elite, albeit underperforming opposition, as an underdog. 

Diego Simeone thought his men were on the right path when they thrashed a lowly Getafe 3-0 on the opening weekend, only to see them lose 2-0 to Villarreal in the following round. 

With the Champions League group stage kick-off just around the corner, Atletico Madrid’s fixture list will drastically expand in September, making these early exchanges ever so significant. 

Los Merengues’ woeful second-half showing against Villarreal in Madrid led to Simeone’s first defeat to Unai Emery in 16 matches, so a road trip to Valencia could serve as an ideal reset. 

This Monday’s three points will also be very important for both clubs after their mixed start to the new season. Both won their respective Matchday 1 fixtures before falling to defeat in Matchday 2, so neither side will want to suffer what would be a second consecutive defeat.

What have they done so far?

Valencia is currently in 11th place in the La Liga standings and has largely failed to meet expectations over the past year. The home side suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat at the hands of Athletic Bilbao last week and will need to work hard to bounce back in this fixture.

Atletico Madrid is in ninth place in the league table at the moment and is also yet to hit its stride in the competition. Los Colchoneros slumped to a shocking 2-0 defeat against Unai Emery’s Villarreal outfit in their previous game and will need to step up to the plate this week.

Head to Head Record

Atletico Madrid has a slight edge over Valencia and has won 23 out of the 63 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Valencia’s 20 victories. Valencia has failed to secure victory in any of their last 15 matches against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, with their previous league victory against Diego Simeone’s side coming in 2014.

After a run of three victories in four games against Atletico Madrid at the Mestalla, Valencia has failed to win their last seven home games against Los Colchoneros.

There was late drama in both duels last season. Their first clash of 2021/22 also took place at Mestalla and Atleti was leading 3-1 as the match entered stoppage time. However, a pair of 92nd and 96th-minute goals from Hugo Duro saw Los Che fight back for an incredible 3-3 draw, in front of an incredulous home crowd.

The rematch then produced an even wilder ending as Valencia was leading 2-1 in the capital and heading for a shock win, but Ángel Correa equalised in the 90th minute before Mario Hermoso ventured forward from central defence to smash in a dramatic 93rd-minute winner.

Even in previous seasons, the meetings between these two historic clubs were also thrilling right until the final whistle. Over the past 10 clashes between these outfits, only one of them saw the sides separated by more than one goal. It is always close when Valencia and Atlético de Madrid square off, making the three points on offer so valuable.

Team News

Valencia will again be without Jose Gaya and Eray Comert as they continue to serve their respective suspensions. With Hugo Duro also absent through injury, Maximiliano Gomez should lead the line for Valencia in his place. Barcelona loanee Nico Gonzalez is pushing for his first start, but he may have to remain on the substitutes’ bench for the time being.

Nahuel Molina is missing for Atletico after the right wing-back was sent off during the closing stages against Villarreal. While Simeone has a number of solutions available to him, Yannick Carrasco could switch flanks to allow Saul Niguez to take his spot on the left. Jose Gimenez should be recalled to the back three to replace the injured Stefan Savic.

Predicted Starting XIs

Valencia (4-3-3): Giorgi Mamardashvili; Thierry Correia, Gabriel Paulista, Mouctar Diakhaby, Jose Gaya; Carlos Soler, Hugo Guillamon, Yunus Musah; Samu Castillejo, Samuel Lino, Maxi Gomez

Atletico Madrid (3-1-4-2): Jan Oblak; Axel Witsel, Jose Maria Gimenez, Stefan Savic; Koke; Thomas Lemar, Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo De Paul, Yannick Carrasco; Angel Correa, Alvaro Morata

Prediction

Both teams need to make a statement here, especially Atletico if they are to show Barcelona and Real Madrid that they can still fight for the title.

Atletico Madrid has been inconsistent over the past year and is in desperate need of a shot in the arm at the moment. Diego Simeone’s charges have stepped up against Los Che in the past and will need to put their best foot forward this weekend. Valencia is also in need of a resurgence and will face yet another litmus test in this fixture. Atletico Madrid is the better team on paper and holds the upper hand going into this game.

We don’t think Valencia will end its winless run in head-to-head games with Atletico. In fact, we think they’re going to lose on Monday. It’s because Atletico Madrid is just the sort of team that Valencia players struggle with.

Atleti is great at the back, while Valencia players are having problems with finding the net. That said, we see this game going in Atletico’s favor, but probably without too many goals scored. In fact, a 1-0 win for the visitors seems like the most likely result.