Atlético de Madrid face a stern early-season test on Sunday evening when Villarreal touch down at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
Whereas Villarreal kicked off 2026/27 with an entertaining draw at Racing Santander, Atlético grabbed two late goals to defeat newly-promoted Málaga on Wednesday. With another victory on Sunday, Atleti would open the year with consecutive victories in LaLiga for the first time since 2021.
Atlético’s last meeting with Villarreal went badly for the Colchoneros: a 5-1 defeat
at La Cerámica that closed the 2025/26 season. Atlético’s last home loss to this opponent took place three years ago, but Villarreal have a better record away to Atleti than most: the Yellow Submarine has won or drawn half of its 24 league games at the Metropolitano and the Vicente Calderón.
Diego Simeone and new Villarreal boss Iñigo Pérez matched wits on four occasions when the latter coached Rayo Vallecano; Simeone won two of those meetings, drew another and lost the most recent, which was a 3-0 beatdown at Butarque in February.
Team news
Picking a team remains something of a headache for Simeone, as the coach needs several players to regain match fitness amid delayed transfers, FIFA World Cup participation and a congested start to the season. For example, Cristian Romero must continue to wait for his Atlético debut, at least as a starter, while Julian Alvarez will be fit enough for the bench only. Álex Baena and Lee Kang-in are likely to come off the bench again, though that worked out fairly well for Atleti against Málaga in round one.
In better news, Álex Grimaldo and Morten Hjulmand could make their first starts for the club on Sunday in a more-recognizable lineup. Simeone on Saturday tested Grimaldo and Marcos Llorente as the full-backs either side of Dávid Hancko and Robin Le Normand. The midfield — Hjulmand, Koke and Pablo Barrios — has the flexibility to adapt to multiple formations based on game state; Barrios is likely to invert from the left-hand side and push Giuliano Simeone closer to the penalty area.
Rodrigo Mendoza is in line for a second successive start, and Simeone continues to test him as an attacking midfielder or even as a second striker next to Ademola Lookman — who will have to continue playing center-forward while the club seeks another attacker on the market.
Possible 11 Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Hancko, Grimaldo; Giuliano, Hjulmand, Koke, Barrios; Mendoza, Lookman.
