Atlético Madrid have the chance to salvage something — albeit small — as they travel to the East coast of Spain on Sunday night to take on Villarreal CF in a straight shoot-out for third place in the final matchday of this season.
Los Rojiblancos haven’t occupied third spot in LALIGA at the close of matchday since mid-March, but they now have the chance to secure their usual position behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the league
table.
Atleti (21-6-10, 69 points) require just a point away to the Yellow Submarine to leapfrog them into third, with a tie on points decided by the head-to-head goal difference in the two league meetings between the sides. Back in September, Atleti scooped up their first win of the season with a fine 2-0 victory over Villarreal, putting them in good stead in the event of a draw at Estadio La Cerámica.
The team from tiny town Vila-real (also 21-6-10, 69 points) have more incentives than just winning a football match on Sunday, as manager Marcelino will take his place in the Villarreal dugout for the final time (in this current spell, at least). The man from Asturias has been in charge for the last three years, leading the club to back-to-back UEFA Champions League qualifications for just the second time in their history.
As well as wanting to send off their manager in the best possible way, Atlético’s opposition will be playing to achieve their highest league finish since the 2007/08 season. Third place won’t quite eclipse the silver medal they achieved 18 years ago, but it would be statement of intent that an incoming manager can use to build upon in their quest to disrupt the country’s big three teams.
As far as the recent history between these two sides at La Cerámica, Atleti have a positive record to call upon in their quest to get the job done on Sunday. Since losing three matches in a row away to Villarreal between 2015 and 2018, Diego Simeone’s men haven’t been defeated at their place.
This fixture has twice before been played on the final day of the season, the first time being a 1-0 win to close El Cholo’s first campaign in Madrid, and more recently in the 2022/23 season, when Atleti ended up drawing 2-2 when a win could have put them above Real Madrid in second.
Team news
There have been no new additions to the last few weeks’ long list of injured players. But Robin Le Normand has replaced Marcos Llorente on the naughty step having accumulated five yellow cards and is therefore suspended. He has been handed the opportunity to win his way back into the Spain squad for the FIFA World Cup, but will miss his one last chance to impress national team coach Luis de la Fuente before the traveling team is announced Monday.
The latest training ground rehearsal from Simeone indicates Antoine Griezmann will start his last-ever game for the club, in a front three by Ademola Lookman and Giuliano Simeone.
In the midfield, captain Koke (hopefully not playing his last Atleti match) will be joined by Álex Baena and the impressive Obed Vargas, who seems to be winning the trust of his manager. There are suggestions the Mexican could spend next season on loan at a fellow LALIGA side, but recent performances would suggest he has a place in this Atlético Madrid squad come August.
At the back, the four that have come to be the first choice line of defence will have one last rodeo together to close out the campaign. Center-back pairing Dávid Hancko and Marc Pubill are set to be flanked by Marcos Llorente, fresh from his Spanish media book sales tour which has caused more damage than good, and Matteo Ruggeri.
In goal, Juan Musso looks to be favoured over the regular Slovenian first-choice, further casting doubts about the future of Jan Oblak.
Predicted lineup
Musso; Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri; Koke, Vargas, Baena; Giuliano, Griezmann, Lookman.
