Villarreal and Atletico Madrid will end their La Liga seasons on Sunday at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Atletico go into the match with the opportunity to finish second behind champions Barcelona.
Los Rojiblancos are third in the standings and one point behind Real Madrid. Real Madrid will kick off against Athletic Bilbao at the same time.
🔜 ¡El Villarreal-Atleti, cada vez más cerca! pic.twitter.com/tjz8OIzeNi— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) June 1, 2023
🔜 ¡El Villarreal-Atleti, cada vez más cerca! pic.twitter.com/tjz8OIzeNi
Villarreal will finish fifth this season. Despite losing manager Unai Emery after a third of the season, Villarreal rebounded under Quique Setien to finish in the Europa League qualification places.
Sixth-place Real Betis cannot catch Villarreal even if the former wins and the latter loses.
The Yellow Submarine go into the match with Atletico fresh off a 2-1 loss to Rayo Vallecano. The defeat ended a run of three straight wins.
Setien has made Villarreal a strong home team. The club is on a four-game winning streak at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Villarreal outscored their last four opponents 14-4 at home.
Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in three straight La Liga games, picking up seven points from nine on offer. They outscored those three opponents 8-4.
Although Atletico’s defence isn’t what it used to be under Diego Simeone, they conceded the second-fewest goals with 31 in 37 games.
Los Rojiblancos are La Liga’s third-best away team. However, they failed to win three of their last four road matches. Their most recent road game ended 3-3 against Espanyol.
Villarreal are on a good run of form against Atletico and are unbeaten in three straight matches versus the capital club.
The Yellow Submarine won the reverse fixture 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from Yeremi Pino and Gerard Moreno. Atletico’s Nahuel Molina was sent off.
Atletico struggled in the early stages of the campaign. Those problems are long gone for Simeone and company.
Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul will miss the match due to a suspension. Midfielder Thomas Lemar may miss the match through injury. Fellow midfielder Marcos Llorente is also a doubt to make the side.
Forward Memphis Depay may sit out with a muscle injury. Goalkeeper Jan Oblak is suffering from physical discomfort, which could keep him on the sidelines.
Setien is without midfielder Francis Coquelin due to an ACL injury. Both Raul Albiol and Jose Luis Morales are doubts to make the squad due to their respective injuries. Midfielder Alfonso Pedraza is ruled out due to a suspension.
Atletico have extra motivation to win against Villarreal and possibly finish ahead of Real. Meanwhile, Villarreal have nothing to play for. Los Rojiblancos should win a close game 2-1 away from home to end the campaign.