Real Madrid on alert: Atlético Madrid may 'steal' something very valuable from them

Atlético Madrid have proven to be one of the best teams in Europe at the start of the 2023/24 season. In fact, they are the only ones who could beat Real Madrid so far: they beat them 3-1 in the derby of the Spanish capital. The good results they have obtained allowed them to reach the third place in the standings with 25 points, 3 less than the leaders Real Madrid and Girona.

But there is an important detail: Los Colchoneros have played one less game, as the game vs Sevilla that was to be played on September 2 was suspended due to bad weather conditions and rescheduled for Saturday, December 23. This means that Diego Simeone's team are virtual leaders of the tournament as well.

And this Friday they can become actual leaders. They will face Las Palmas at the Gran Canaria Stadium, looking for a victory that will allow them to catch Los Merengues and Girona in the standings, at least until they play their respective matches against Rayo Vallecano and Osasuna.

Coach Diego Simeone decided that Atlético Madrid's starting lineup will be: Jan Oblak, Nahuel Molina, Stefan Savic, Axel Witsel, Mario Hermoso; Pablo Barrios Rivas, Rodrigo de Paul, Koke, Rodrigo Riquelme; Antoine Griezmann, Álvaro Morata. The substitutes will be Antonio Gomis, Sergio Mestre, Jose Gimenez, Caglar Soyuncu, Javi Galan, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Llorente, Saul Ñiguez and Angel Correa.

For them it is also a great opportunity

Las Palmas have had a surprisingly good start to the season. With 4 wins, 2 draws and 5 defeats, they are in the middle of the standings and only 3 points away from the qualification zone for international tournaments. Coach Francisco Javier Garcia Pimienta chose this XI: Álvaro Vallés; Álex Suárez, Saul Coco, Mika Mármol, Sergi Cardona, Javier Muñoz, Kirian Rodríguez, Marvin Park, Maximo Perrone, Alberto Moleiro, Munir El Haddadi.