It’s another Madrid derby this midweek in La Liga as Atlético Madrid play hosts to Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish capital with the home side looking to make it four wins in a row after losing the last Madrid meeting with rival Real Madrid.
Atletico have had another excellent start to the season in La Liga, and for all the woes in Europe, the club currently sit just three points behind Barcelona, but six behind rivals and champions Real.
🔜 A la vuelta de la esquina, una semana con dos partidazos ligueros 😃¡Esto no para, atléticos! 🔴⚪ pic.twitter.com/Ftw2G0aJHM— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) October 16, 2022
🔜 A la vuelta de la esquina, una semana con dos partidazos ligueros 😃¡Esto no para, atléticos! 🔴⚪ pic.twitter.com/Ftw2G0aJHM
Atletico have won six of their nine games to this point in the league, drawing one and losing the other two. Real stole all three points off them in one of those games, and given how their other defeat was back in August against Villarreal, it's fair to say that form has been quite promising across the season.
Diego Simeone's men have beaten Sevilla, Girona and Athletic Club in the past three meetings in Spain, but they did lose 2-0 to Club Brugge and then drew 0-0 with them a week later in the Champions League.
In this time, the club’s fourth-highest all-time record goalscorer, Antoine Griezmann, has officially rejoined the club and he got the winning goal last time out against Bilbao with a second half strike.
The only major concern for Simeone this season will be the goals they have conceded, having now let in the second-most inside the top half of the table after Real Sociedad.
Atletico have conceded seven goals in nine games, but are only being outscored by Bilbao, Valencia and the top two El Clasico giants.
Vallecano have not started the season as well as they did in their excellent return to La Liga last campaign, but by sitting 10th in the table and already four above the bottom three, there is a bit of promise so far.
On the other hand, after losing 3-1 to 18th-placed Almeria two weeks back before a 0-0 draw with 16th-placed Getafe, a worrying mentality has begun to circle the Madrid outfit.
Vallecano have still managed to win three games this season and score 10 goals along the way, but having only beaten bottom-placed Elche, 13th-placed Espanyol, their only notable victory so far has come over seven-placed Valencia.
In fact, Vallecano’s record in Madrid derbies since coming into La Liga last season has been woeful, and there is little hope they will get all three points here.
Forebet predicts Atletico to win here and over 2.5 goals in the game.