This weekend, we’ve got a very interesting tie. Natural and historic Spanish heavyweights Atletico Madrid host a Girona side that look to get a major result in the capital. The tiny Catalan outfit have been hugely impressive so far this season, having helped themselves to become one of the more interesting sides on show.
With an impressive 26 points so far, they know that a win could do them wonders as they try to keep up a good run of form – 3 wins in their last 6 – to keep moving up the table instead of looking down. For Atletico, though, a win is a necessity to keep their impressive form moving forward. 2 wins on the spin means they know a result here could help them stay on the coat tails of Barcelona, albeit in hope more than expectation.
The return of Diego Costa has done much to help the home side find a new verve, with a typically Costa goal and red card making him immediately settle back into the way of things under Diego Simeone. As the likes of Saul Niguez and Koke continue their impressive development, too, Atletico finally have a strength and a spine that makes them every bit as impressive as their more illustrious rivals.
It’s been against teams like Girona, though, that they have often struggled. Given that Cristian Stuani, with 10, is the top scorer amongst both clubs it will be very interesting to see how Atletico try to slow down the Uruguayan, who is in arguably the form of his career. The shaky form of Jose Maria Gimenez and Stefan Savic at the back will also mean the home side need to be wary of a forward who has a habit of bullying people.
Expect a tough game, with Atletico just coming out on top. A 6-0 win for the away side last time out, though, puts them in the mood to know they could, given the chance, upset the apple cart here. Unbeaten at home, though, we don’t expect their chance to come to anything as Atletico don’t often lose.
