Real Valladolid vs Atletico Madrid

The stakes are high for dead-last Real Valladolid and title-hoping Atletico Madrid as they lock horns in a lopsided La Liga encounter at Estadio José Zorrilla.

Nailed to the bottom of the standings after a 2-0 defeat to Getafe last weekend stretched their winless La Liga run to four matches (D1, L3), Valladolid’s hopes of avoiding relegation are dwindling with each passing round. With only two wins and nine points from the opening 14 matchdays (D3, L9), Paulo Pezzolano’s men sit rock-bottom, three points adrift of safety. However, they’ll relish the impending home return, knowing 67% of their La Liga points this season have come at Estadio José Zorrilla, where they’ve only conceded seven goals from as many league outings. That’s a stark contrast to the 20 they’ve leaked in as many games on the road. Yet, scoring has been a glaring issue, with Valladolid netting just five times at home thus far. 

Visiting Atletico Madrid will aim to take advantage of Valladolid’s scoring woes to condemn them to a seventh consecutive winless home match in La Liga for the first time since 2010 following a stunning 6-0 win at Sparta Prague in midweek UEFA Champions League action. Diego Simeone’s charges have hit a purple patch after back-to-back competitive losses toward the end of October, winning their last six games in all competitions, including a come-from-behind 2-1 home triumph against Deportivo Alaves a week ago. In doing so, ‘Los Rojiblancos’ have whittled down the gap on table-topping Barcelona to five points, but there’s no room for complacency. Indeed, they’ve stuttered on the road this term, picking up just three wins from seven La Liga travels (D3, L1) while barely averaging a goal per game.