Atletico can seize La Liga lead as Osasuna visit / Photo: © AFP
Atletico can seize La Liga lead as Osasuna visit
With Spanish champions Real Madrid and their arch-rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup, Atletico Madrid's sights are firmly set on top spot in La Liga.
Diego Simeone's side have won 13 games straight across all competitions and a victory against visitors Osasuna on Sunday would take them clear of Los Blancos by a point at the halfway mark of the league campaign.
Another triumph would hoist them six points clear of Barcelona, who led the table for much of the first half of the season before a slump in November and December.
The only time Atletico have managed to finish as 'winter champions' in Simeone's reign was in the 2021-22 season, when they went on to win the title.
Their run of winning form is the joint best in the club's history, along with an identical stretch in 2012 relatively early in Simeone's tenure.
The Rojiblancos have lost just one game in the top flight all season, against Real Betis in October, and since then have soared.
Atletico have won seven straight games in La Liga, keeping four clean sheets and scoring 17 goals while conceding only five.
Argentine midifelder De Paul has been an essential part of Atletico's surge in form.
The 30-year-old is in in fine goalscoring fettle, with three strikes in his last four top flight games, including in the dramatic 2-1 win over title rivals Barcelona before the winter break.
In attack Simeone has a host of options with Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez seemingly his preferred strike force, with Alexander Sorloth regularly making a huge impact from the bench.
The Norwegian hitman struck the winner against Barcelona and is the team's top scorer with eight league goals despite starting just seven games.
"The team has been growing, some games it's played better and others have been harder -- we need to keep improving," said Simeone after the winter break.
The coach is notoriously reluctant to muse on his team's title chances and insists on focussing game by game.
Osasuna, 10th, are no pushovers and may change their system to try and stifle Simeone's red-hot Atletico, switching to a five-man defence.
Elsewhere Real Sociedad welcome Villarreal on Monday in an interesting battle between two high-calibre sides.
Villarreal, fifth, are one of the division's most entertaining sides but have struggled to defend, conceding 30 goals -- more than any other side in the top 15.
Real Sociedad, seventh, will fancy their chances of taking three points and cutting the gap to the sides above them after a slow start to the season.
Player to watch: Javi Puado
Espanyol take on Leganes in a clash which could prove vital in both sides' bid to avoid relegation. Puado is Espanyol's key attacking threat, their top scorer with six goals in La Liga, and after five games without victory across all competitions, the Pericos are desperate to claim all three points at home on Saturday.
Key stats
2 - Relegation battling Valencia netted two goals in the first half of a game for the first time this season in the Copa del Rey this week
10 - Osasuna's Ante Budimir is behind only Barcelona duo Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha for goals
18 - league clean sheets kept by Real Sociedad in 2024, the joint-third highest in Europe's big five leagues
Fixtures
Friday (all times GMT)
Rayo Vallecano v Celta Vigo (2000)
Saturday
Alaves v Girona (1300), Valladolid v Real Betis (1515), Espanyol v Leganes (1730), Sevilla v Valencia (2000)
Sunday
Las Palmas v Getafe (1300), Atletico Madrid v Osasuna (1515)
Monday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (2000)
F.Hughes--TNT
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