Diego Simeone’s side have been quietly building a head of steam in La Liga, winning three straight after dropping points at Athletic Club in early September. That run, which included a 2-1 win over Real Madrid and a 4-0 dismantling of Osasuna at the Metropolitano, has lifted Atletico to second in the table, five points behind Barcelona and level on 16 with Real Betis. Saturday’s trip to Vitoria is the kind of fixture that can either cement that momentum or expose how thin the margins still are at the top of La Liga.
What’s at stake
Atletico sit second with 16 points from seven matches, level on points with Real Betis but ahead on the table. Barcelona are five points clear at the summit with a perfect seven wins. A win at Mendizorrotza would keep Simeone’s side in the conversation for the title race while consolidating their Champions League position. Real Madrid, just one point further back in fourth, would close to within two points of Atletico if results go against them this weekend, so the buffer is real but not comfortable.
For Alaves, the stakes are different. Quique Sanchez Flores’s side sit sixth on 11 points, currently in a Conference League playoff position. They are only one point ahead of seventh-place Deportivo La Coruna, and a defeat here would allow teams below to leapfrog them. Equally, a result against one of the division’s top sides would represent a significant statement for a team that has already beaten Villarreal and Osasuna this season.
How they got here
Alaves arrive in mixed form. Back-to-back league defeats against Racing Santander and Valencia knocked some of the shine off a strong start, though a goalless draw at Athletic Club in their most recent outing showed they can be hard to beat on the road. Their last two home results tell a more encouraging story: a 5-2 win over Osasuna and a 1-0 defeat of Villarreal. Atletico, by contrast, have won three consecutive La Liga matches and have scored nine goals across those fixtures. Their only blemish recently was a Champions League defeat at Liverpool.
In the table, Alaves’s 11 points from seven games puts them sixth. Atletico’s 16 points from the same number of games is enough for second place, though the gap to both Betis below and Barcelona above means every home match for the leaders and every away trip for Atletico carries weight. Simeone’s side have conceded seven league goals this season, giving them one of the better defensive records in the division.
Key battle to watch
Atletico’s attacking options, including Jonathan David, Adrien Sorloth and Adrien Lookman, will test an Alaves backline that has shipped six goals in seven games but has shown it can organise effectively in low-block situations. The more interesting tactical question is whether Sanchez Flores sets up to contain and counter or tries to press high and disrupt Atletico’s build-up. Atletico’s three straight wins have all been relatively controlled performances; a side willing to be aggressive in transition could find gaps if Simeone’s full-backs push forward as freely as they have in recent weeks.
Key Stats
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Our Prediction
History strongly favors Atletico in this matchup; they have won six of the last ten meetings and Alaves have taken just two of those fixtures. Atletico’s current attacking form, nine goals in three La Liga games, is hard to look past, and Mendizorrotza, for all its atmosphere, has not been a fortress against top-half opponents this term. A controlled Atletico win is the likeliest outcome, though Sanchez Flores’s side have shown enough to make this uncomfortable for long stretches.
Alaves
Atletico Madrid