La Liga Preview: Atlético Madrid – Deportivo La Coruña

It might still be early in the season, but the game this Sunday is already being touted as ‘must-win’ for Atlético Madrid and, with Deportivo above them in the league, it simply adds to the drama. Los Blanquiazules have hardly been in great form themselves this year, but it says a lot about the inconsistency of Atlético that they are closer to the top four than their hosts this weekend…

Testing Times

Atlético Madrid might have made it through to the last 16 of the Copa Del Rey this Wednesday, but the result against Orihuela failed to win over the fans, or the press. A goalless draw against a Segunda Divisón B – Group 3 side is rarely a good result for a Primera team and even more so when things are not exactly going swimmingly at the club anyway. In fact possibly the only bright spot in an otherwise dark week for Atlético fans was the shock exit of arch-rivals Real Madrid in the same competition.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t actually celebrate that result until the final whistle blew on Wednesday evening due to the failure of their side to score, despite dominating the game. Diego Forlán was guilty of missing a hatful of chances that he would usually take with his eyes shut and a failure to score goals really is the last thing that Javier Aguirre needs right now. The Mexican is already under plenty of pressure for his tactics and the results and if his side stop scoring then he may well have too much on his plate to cope with.

Strong Defence

Against Deportivo this weekend, there is no doubt that Atleti will have to be clinical if they want to pick up all three points. Whilst the visitors to Madrid are not goal-gluttons, they aren’t bad defensively. Miguel Ángel Lotina’s side have conceded just nine times this year and, bearing in mind that four of those came against Valencia and three against Sporting Gijón, it is not hard to see how they got so high in the table. Unlike in years gone by they have relied on getting a lead and defending it, as illustrated by 1-0 victories over Numancia and Espanyol.

At times they have managed to open the floodgates, such as against Real Betis two weeks ago when they scored three second-half goals to pick up a much needed win. However, even then the foundation of their plan was built on defence and for much of the first-half they were under pressure; holding firm - waiting for a chance to present itself. Fortunately for them, they managed to take their chances on that day. Still, it's fair to say that, at times, they have come up short because of the lack of a clinical finisher amongst the team.

Between Riki, Mista, Omar Bravo and Bodipo, there is no doubting that they do have quality and certainly depth, but they have been accused of missing that sharpness up front. Against Atlético, though, they will be given chances, as is the way with the Rojiblanco’s defence at the moment. The question remains: can they take advantage of their chances? If they can, then they will be hard to break down and, as has been seen in the past against Osasuna, Sevilla, Orihuela and others, Atlético have struggled to score against a stubborn defence.

Surprisingly, it was a different story in the matches last year as Atleti actually beat Depor at the Riazor and the Calderón, doing so both times without conceding. Away from home they ran out 3-0 victors early on in the season and then, in Madrid, a single strike from Forlán was enough to give them the win. Expect a very tight game on this occasion and it would take a brave man to bet on many goals to be scored in this one.


FORM GUIDE

Atlético Madrid

Nov 12 Atlético Madrid 0-0 Orihuela (Copa Del Rey)

Nov 9 Osasuna 0-0 Atlético Madrid (La Liga)

Nov 4 Liverpool 1-1 Atlético Madrid (Champions League)

Nov 1 Atlético Madrid 2-0 Mallorca (La Liga)

Oct 29 Orihuela 0-1 Atlético Madrid (Copa Del Rey)

Deportivo La Coruña

Nov 12 Deportivo 2-0 Elche (Copa Del Rey)

Nov 9 Deportivo 1-0 Espanyol (La Liga)

Nov 2 Real Betis 0-3 Deportivo (La Liga)

Oct 29 Elche 0-2 Deportivo (La Liga)

Oct 26 Deportivo 0-3 Sporting Gijón (La Liga)


TEAM NEWS

Atlético Madrid

Javier Aguirre rested many of his big players in the Copa Del Rey in midweek, so he should be able to pick a full-strength side for the match this weekend. The only definite injury is Antonio López, who is suffering from vertigo; left-back Mariano Pernía should continue to fill in.

Against Osasuna, Forlán started on the bench, but the coach is unlikely to make the same play here and will probably just go with his strongest XI in a bid to take any subsequent blame away from himself.


Copa Del Rey Preview: Atlético Madrid - Orihuela
Dynamo turn attention to defending title