Atletico Madrid take on the visitors Villarreal in the round 4 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Saturday, September 13th at Metropolitano Stadium (Madrid).
Atletico Madrid clearly expected a different start. Los Colchoneros have been playing under Diego Simeone for a long time, but they haven’t produced anything truly significant for quite a while. In fact, in 2024 the giants even finished below Girona, ending up 4th in La Liga. After that, Diego carried out an expensive squad reshuffle — yet they lost to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and to Barcelona in the domestic cup. In La Liga they again lagged behind both of their eternal rivals. This summer, the club reacted with yet another wave of transfer activity. Still, the new campaign started very poorly: they lost to Espanyol without much resistance — despite leading until the 73rd minute. After that came only 1-1 draws, at home against Elche and away at Alaves. There was definitely work for El Cholo to do during the international break. They also signed his compatriot Nicolás González on loan from Juventus at the very last moment. Atletico have now gone four league games without a win, and their attack has been blunt, scoring just three times. Simeone will need an immediate reaction from his leaders if they want to stay in touch with the top spots.
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Villarreal collapsed in the first half of the season before last. Even after Marcelino returned as head coach, they still failed to qualify for European competitions. However, the 2024/25 campaign brought remarkable progress: they finished with 70 points, level with Athletic Bilbao. In the end, the Basques claimed 4th place, but 5th was enough for Villarreal to return to the UEFA Champions League as well. Having significantly refreshed the squad (Manor Solomon and Georges Mikautadze both joined on September 1), they opened with two clean-sheet wins — 2-0 over Real Oviedo and a stunning 5-0 against Girona. However, just before the break they slipped, or rather let Celta Vigo equalize at 1-1 in Vigo in the 90+ minute. Villarreal’s attack has looked sharp and creative, producing eight goals in three league matches. If they can tighten up defensively, they could become one of the surprise packages of this La Liga season.
The Yellow Submarine have beaten the Madrid giants only once since autumn 2018. But last season both of their meetings ended in draws. The capital club will certainly be the favorite at home. But it seems that the visitors are now capable of at least avoiding defeat here.
Prediction for the match: Villarreal not to lose (X2).
