Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone has defended Julian Alvarez again as the striker’s struggles continue.
Alvarez was unable to make an impact during Atleti’s 3-1 defeat to Barcelona last time out, with the forward now failing to score in four of his last five matches in all competitions.
However, his recent form does not tell the story of his season, with the 25-year-old scoring seven goals in 15 LaLiga games and three in four Champions League matches.
Simeone will be hoping that Alvarez can rediscover his goalscoring touch ahead of Atleti’s trip to Athletic Club, with the Argentine coach losing four of his last seven visits to the Basque side in LaLiga (W2 D1).
But after Alvarez received some criticism for his performance against Barca, Simeone came to his player’s defence.
“We are supporting him in a moment where maybe he isn’t scoring as much,” said Simeone.
“How many goals has he scored since he arrived? He scored 39.”
Athletic are 11 points behind fourth-place Atleti, with Ernesto Valverde’s side scoring just 14 goals in 15 league games this season.
They have won just twice in their last eight games in all competitions (D1 L5), losing 3-0 to Real Madrid in their most recent match.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Athletic Club – Nico Williams
Nico Williams has only scored more goals in LaLiga against Rayo Vallecano (four) than he has against Atleti (two – level with Almeria and Real Valladolid).
Both of his goals against Atleti have also come within his last four top-flight appearances against the Rojiblancos.
Atletico Madrid – Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann has only been directly involved in more LaLiga goals against Valencia (18) than he has against Athletic (17 – also against Celta Vigo and Sevilla), scoring seven goals and providing ten assists in 31 top-flight appearances versus the Bilbao side.
MATCH PREDICTION: ATLETICO MADRID WIN
Athletic have lost five of their last six LaLiga matches against Atleti (W1), including each of the last three, and could lose four in a row against them in the competition for the third time in the 21st century after 2006-07 and 2017-18.
They have also lost two of their three LaLiga home matches against Atleti since Valverde’s return (W1), after not losing any of their previous four against them at San Mames (W3 D1).
Atleti are unbeaten in their last five away games against Basque teams in LaLiga (W2 D3), although they have drawn their last three – they have never gone six or more away games without defeat against such sides in the top-flight.
And Athletic have struggled at home this season. They have already lost as many home games this season in eight LaLiga matches (W4 D1 L3) as they did in their previous two campaigns combined (38 games, W23 D12 L3).
However, Atleti have dropped a league-high 14 points from winning positions this season, while Athletic are the only team in the competition who are yet to drop a single point after going ahead in games.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Athletic Club – 31.0%
Draw – 27.4%
Atletico Madrid – 41.6%
