Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal Preview: Team News & Prediction
by Alex Lawes ·
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We have an intriguing encounter at the Metropolitano, with a real chance that Atletico Madrid are plummet further into crisis ahead of the visit of a strong Villarreal side.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Disney+ / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
How to watch online: UK – Disney+ / US – ESPN+
Atletico Madrid preview: Weak Atleti
The failure to evolve for Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid has led Los Rojiblancos to hitting a new low at the start of this season, with Madrid’s second club having collected just two points from their opening three matches of the 2025/26 La Liga campaign.
They started the season with a 2-1 defeat away to Espanyol in a game in which they put in a strong performance, before a 1-1 draw at home to newly-promoted Elche and then a 1-1 draw in the Basque Country against Deportivo Alaves a couple of weeks ago.
Villarreal preview: Strong Villarreal
Coached by former Valencia boss Marcelino, Villarreal have been much-improved and now the Yellow Submarine, with UEFA Champions League football to look forward to once again, have started this season extremely well as they hunt a top four spot.
They began by breezing past Real Oviedo by two goals to nil before then hammering Girona 5-0 at El Madrigal. Prior to the September international break, they shared a 1-1 draw with a similarly strong and entertaining Celta Vigo side at Balaidos in Galicia.
Atletico Madrid team news: Still no Alex Baena
One of the key signings to spark a tactical and stylistic evolution would be Alex Baena, but the former Villarreal man remains unavailable due to injury for the hosts against his former side.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Oblak; Marcos Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Hancko; Giuliano Simeone, Johnny, Pablo Barrios, Almada; Sorloth, Julian Alvarez
Unavailable: Jose Maria Gimenez (Injured), Alex Baena (Injured)
Questionable:
Villarreal team news: Deep squad
Even with key departures such as Alex Baena and Yeremy Pino, Villarreal still have a strong eleven with the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Tajon Buchanan, despite injury issues for Gerard Moreno and Ayoze Perez.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Junior; Santiago Mourino, Foyth, Rafa Marin, Sergi Cardona; Buchanan, Santi Comesana, Gueye, Alberto Moleiro; Pepe, Mikautadze
Unavailable: Costa (Injured), Pau Cabanes (Injured)
Questionable: Kambwala (Injured), Gerard (Injured), Ayoze (Injured)
Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal prediction
Atletico Madrid just feel as though they are coming to the end of the long Diego Simeone era, and there just appears to be a feeling that they are destined to once again struggle for a bit longer yet, with a lack of cohesion on the ball and a lethargy off it. With that, they now come up against a Villarreal side playing with a lot of confidence and exuberance, and it would actually be a surprise to see Atleti getting the better of Villarreal.
Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal tip: Double chance – Villarreal to win or draw
