Atletico Madrid vs Almeria

Metropolitano Stadium forms the backdrop for a lopsided La Liga encounter between third-placed Atletico Madrid and relegation-battling Almeria.

Another top-four finish in La Liga looks like a near-certainty for high-flying Atletico Madrid, who head into proceedings on the back of an outrageous 12-match unbeaten league run (W9, D3), bookended by a hard-earned 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano last time out. It’s been over two years since ‘Los Colchoneros’ last enjoyed a longer undefeated streak in La Liga, while it’s also worth noting they’ve won five times in a row in the build-up to this fixture. The hosts have hit the ground running since the start of March, netting a league-high 13 goals during that stretch while conceding second-low two in return. Diego Simeone’s men can draw further confidence from never losing a home game against Almeria in La Liga (W4, D2), including a brace of multi-goal margin triumphs in their last two such match-ups.

In the meantime, Almeria eked out a pivotal 2-1 home win over Valencia in last weekend’s La Liga relegation six-pointer, moving three points clear of the red zone while putting an end to a dismal four-match winless league run (D2, L2). However, playing away from home doesn’t bode well for the vistiors’ survival bid, considering they’ve failed to win any of their last 20 La Liga matches on hostile turf (D4, L16). As the only La Liga side yet to pick up three points on the road this season (D4, L9), ‘Los Rojiblancos’ look like a doomed outfit going into this trip. Adding to this sentiment, Rubi’s men have won none of their last 21 visits to Madrid in La Liga (D5, L16), including eight consecutive defeats ahead of this fixture.