Almeria vs Atletico Madrid predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Los Rojiblancos head to Andalusia.
| Date | Sunday 15th January 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 16:15 (CET) |
| Stadium | Power Horse |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Almeria vs Atletico Madrid Preview
Atletico Madrid travel to Andalusia on Sunday, hoping to make ground on some of the teams around them in the table with four clubs not playing this weekend due to the Supercopa. Almeria meanwhile are hoping to improve on a dreadful record against top half teams this season.
They have been found wanting whenever they’ve faced strong opposition so far this season with 7 defeats from 7 games against teams currently in the top 8. By contrast they’ve won all 5 home games against sides ranked 9th or below in the current standings heading into matchday 17, scoring 12 times across those matches.
There is clearly a naivety to Almeria at times and they do leak some soft goals but there is also enough about them in the final third to suggest they have a good chance of beating the drop. The challenge for Rubi will be to try to find a way to grind out results in some of these kinds of fixtures, otherwise there will be a lot of pressure on the games against teams around them in the table. It’s not really in his nature to play defensively but he’ll want a bit more solidity from his defence moving forwards.
Diego Simeone is another coach who will be frustrated by many things he has seen from his team this season. He would though have seen some positives since the resumption and if anything, they shaded their home game against Barcelona last weekend, but couldn’t find a goal despite creating some clear openings in a 1-0 defeat.
It’s going to be interesting to see who arrives at the club over the coming weeks with the assumption being that at least one forward will come in following the departures of Matheus Cunha and Joao Felix. They don’t have a great deal to play for now, so it’s possible that any major expenditure will be delayed until the summer, although the Copa del Rey will be a big priority this month with a Last 16 trip to Levante to look forward to in midweek.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Almeria
| INJURED | |
| DOUBTFUL | Ramazani |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Fernando – Akieme, Ely, Babic, Pozo – De La Hoz, Robertone – Ramazani, Melero, Baptistao – Suarez (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Rubi
Atletico Madrid
| INJURED | |
| DOUBTFUL | Carrasco |
| BANNED | Savic |
Possible XI: Oblak – Reinildo, Hermoso, Gimenez, Molina – Lemar, Kondogbia, Barrios, Llorente – Griezmann, Morata (4-4-2)
Coach: Diego Simeone
Score Prediction: Almeria 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Almeria’s tendency to fall short against the big teams could continue here. There have been cautious signs of optimism for Atletico since the resumption despite that defeat to Barcelona and the reduction in the number of their forward players may at least help bring more clarity and consistency to their attacking play. They may have a bit too much quality for their opponents here.
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