La Liga: Athletico Madrid vs. Villarreal

Posted on | November 1, 2007 | No Comments

If you open your window right now and listen really hard, you could be lucky enough to hear the faint cheers on the wind. That would be Athletico Madrid’s fans still celebrating their midweek win over Sevilla by four goals to three. The truth is Athletico haven’t played this well for years, so a bit of celebrating is in order. No one knows how long it is going to last so they might as well make the most of it. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that their new found success could well come to an end in this important match against Villarreal. Firstly –and most importantly for Athletico- they will be without red hot strikers Diego Forlan and ‘El Kun’ Agüero. Forlan limped off during the Sevilla game and is set to be out for at least ten games, while ‘El Kun’ is doubtful but just might make it on time. The good news is that other players are getting goals too. The very underrated Argentinean Maxi Rodriguez hit a beauty on Wednesday and I’d bet on him repeating the feat against Villarreal. The main problem facing Athletico though is their defense. They are still making school boy mistakes and against a side like Villarreal –who went second in the league after their three nil demolition of lowly Levante- mistakes like that won’t earn you points.

Villarreal are fast becoming the team to beat this season. They have only lost three times but when they do lose they do it in style. Real Madrid put five past them at home, Zaragoza got four and Osasuna managed three. If you take into consideration the fact that they haven’t drawn a game yet, you start to see that their cavalier attacking football works very well, but when it doesn’t it can be a disaster. Coach Pellegrini has done a great job in welding a bunch of average Joe players into a team capable of beating anyone, and knows the significance of this match.

I think this game is going to be hugely difficult to prediction. Both teams need the three points to keep up there in the Champions zone and this will test the defenses of both teams to the limit. Expect a bucket load of goals, but with Forlan out it might just tip the scales in Villarreal’s favor.

Prediction: Away win (2-3)

Related posts:

1. La Liga: Athletico Madrid vs. Sevilla
2. La Liga: Athletico Madrid vs. Valladolid
3. La Liga: Real Sociedad vs. Athletico Madrid
4. La Liga: Getafe vs. Athletico de Madrid
5. La Liga: Athletico de Madrid vs. Barcelona

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