Atletico Madrid opened with a comfortable 2-0 home win but Diego Simeone has rung the changes with five regulars missing from the XI, including a reshuffled attack featuring Lookman and Lee. Villarreal also rotate heavily, with seven regulars absent after a 2-2 draw away, leaving…
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Sign inAtletico Madrid welcome Villarreal to the Spanish capital on Sunday afternoon as La Liga’s second round pits two Champions League hopefuls against one another. Diego Simeone’s side opened their campaign with a win, while Villarreal played a draw, but the big story is Julián Álvarez’s expected return after being left out of the midweek match.
Julián Álvarez was not included in the squad for Atlético’s opener against Málaga, with Simeone stating the 26-year-old was not yet physically ready. The coach expects him to be available against Villarreal and has labelled Álvarez the team’s best player. Alexander Sørloth remains a doubt, still training individually in mid-August due to a muscular problem, while new signing Cristian Romero was also left out of the midweek matchday squad. Ademola Lookman, who scored twice in a 4-1 preseason win over Getafe, is set to lead the line.
Villarreal began the season with a clean bill of health. Gerard Moreno returned to normal training after workload management, and there were no confirmed injuries in the first-team group during the final week of preseason. Captain Moreno is central to Iñigo Pérez’s plans, with Ayoze Pérez and Georges Mikautadze both scoring in the final friendly at Galatasaray.
Atlético started the league campaign with a 2-0 victory over newly promoted Málaga, a result that gave them three points and a clean sheet. Preseason form was mixed: a 4-1 win over Getafe was followed by defeats to Manchester United (2-1) and Manchester City (3-1). They rounded off preparations with a 2-1 away win at Olympique de Marseille, where Rodrigo Mendoza and Carlos Martín got the goals. Ademola Lookman’s two goals in the Getafe friendly underline the responsibility he carries with Sørloth sidelined.
Iñigo Pérez’s first competitive match in charge ended in a goalless draw at Racing Santander, a fixture that showed both defensive resilience and a lack of cutting edge. Preseason painted a brighter picture: a 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven, a 1-0 victory against Levante, and a 2-1 success at Galatasaray featuring goals from Ayoze Pérez and Mikautadze. A 2-0 defeat to Benfica was the only blemish. Pérez has stressed the importance of continuing the ideas built in preseason rather than making a drastic change now the real action has begun.
With Álvarez only expected to feature from the bench and Sørloth absent, Lookman becomes Atlético’s primary attacking reference point. The Nigerian scored twice in preseason and will look to occupy a Villarreal backline marshalled by captain Juan Foyth and Logan Costa. Villarreal’s defensive unit was not breached by Racing Santander on the opening weekend, and Pérez has promised his side will not simply sit in a low block, meaning the contest between Lookman’s movement and Villarreal’s high line could define the game’s rhythm.
Sunday’s meeting offers early clues about the pecking order in a league where both clubs are aiming for top-four finishes. While a second round fixture is never definitive, a positive display in front of a home crowd would give Atlético a head start before Champions League commitments begin to crowd the calendar.
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