Atlético Madrid flip back into LALIGA mode on Saturday afternoon when they host local rivals Getafe CF at the Estadio Metropolitano.
Sandwiched in between the two legs of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie with Tottenham Hotspur, this league match against one of Spain’s most notoriously difficult sides comes at an important moment in Los Rojiblancos‘ season.
Facing Getafe will be Atleti’s 20th match of what has been a hectic 2026, and Diego Simeone faces
a tough decision as to how he selects his team for this one, bearing in mind what the imminent future holds. After next week’s second leg against Spurs, it’s Real Madrid in LALIGA for El Cholo‘s men.
Barely hanging onto third place, Atleti (16-6-5, 54 points) are maintaining a solid home record in the league, losing just once at their stadium all campaign. Last weekend, they recorded a 3-2 win over a good Real Sociedad side to notch up a 12th home LALIGA win of the season — only Barcelona (13) have more.
As for Getafe (10-5-12, 35 points), it’s been their away form that has impressively kept them in the top half of the table; Geta have picked up just as many wins on the road as at home. Sat in ninth spot, a win for this weekend’s visitors would continue to mount their unlikely bid to end up in a European spot at the end of the season, of which they are currently five points shy.
Historically this is a fixture that lives up to its billing as a local derby, with both sets of fans typically sharing feelings of resentment toward one another. In recent times, the stereotypes surrounding both managers’ footballing philosophies have contributed to quite stodgy matches, but have also led us to witnessing some of the most unhinged encounters. An example of the latter would be the 4-3 thriller that Atleti won in the 2022/23 season which saw Mario Hermoso turn the ball in late on to snatch victory.
At the time, that match helped Simeone maintain an unbeaten record against Getafe which extended to 27 matches. It was broken last March, in that match that derailed a once-promising campaign.
Earlier this season, Atleti scrambled themselves over the line winning 1-0 at the Coliseum thanks to a late Domingos Duarte own goal in a match that, being quite honest, I had forgotten all about. Fingers crossed that Saturday brings about something slightly more memorable.
Something that will catch the attention will be the entrance to the pitch of the Atleti players, who are supposedly to be accompanied by people dressed as characters from the British TV series “Peaky Blinders.” In collaboration with Netflix to promote the upcoming season, the traditional child mascot will be replaced with something slightly more unconventional on Saturday.
Team news
Just two days after making his return to the team against Tottenham, Pablo Barrios left Thursday’s training session early after he felt pain in his right leg. It came to light that he had suffered from an injury deemed worthy of an official post by the club on social media, which only happens when said injury is significant enough to keep a player out of action.
Barrios will once again be unavailable for selection, citing fears over his participation in the business end of the season. With more potential Champions League action, the Copa del Rey final and the World Cup in the summer to come, it would be a shame for the midfielder to miss out on some of the biggest games of his career, but injuries unfortunately have a hold over him right now.
Last week I predicted that Simeone would rotate his team a lot more than he actually did in the end, which was key to the performance shown against Real Sociedad. This week, it still feels like heavy rotation should be enforced due to the enormity of the following two matches, but the manager may want to continue the three-match winning run in LALIGA and go for another strong lineup.
Jan Oblak will of course start in goal, and could see his back four change significantly from midweek, as this is where Simeone has typically changed things up in recent weeks. Nahuel Molina is likely to come in at right-back, with José María Giménez and Clément Lenglet the only two center-backs not to feature in the Champions League, so they could very well start against Getafe. Julio Díaz has been regularly training with the first team since his impressive debut against Oviedo, and may feature in this one too.
Alternatively, El Cholo might revert to a back five and stick Nico González in at left wing-back, especially after his two goals which won the game last time out against La Real.
In midfield, either or both of Koke and Johnny Cardoso will have to play, considering Barrios and Rodrigo Mendoza (ankle) are out. Utility man Marcos Llorente picked up a heavy knock against Spurs and could be rested, leaving Obed Vargas as the only other option, however the Mexican hasn’t yet been favoured by his manager. This could see Álex Baena become a central midfielder, or even Thiago Almada given a deeper role in the middle of the park.
Up front, Alexander Sørloth will most likely lead the line, flanked by the tireless Giuliano Simeone and someone on the left side. If it’s Ademola Lookman, we’ll know Simeone will be after direct speed and width, but if it’s one of the aforementioned midfielders, it’ll be control he’ll be after.
Predicted lineup
Oblak; Molina, Giménez, Lenglet, Nico; Giuliano, Cardoso, Baena, Almada; Lookman, Sørloth.
