Fresh from the unexpected and somewhat fortunate away win over Real Sociedad, Getafe host local rivals Atletico Madrid hoping to extend the bright run of results. Meanwhile, los Colchoneros are slowly returning to the right track and they have plenty of reason for optimism ahead of the clash at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

Important missings for Getafe

After spending several years safely tucked away in the middle of the league standings, Getafe were forced to fight for their lives last term and they would have gone down had it not been for the brilliant finish to the league campaign that saw them take 11 points from last 5 fixtures. The club have since failed to properly reinforce their ranks, signing several average players, while issues over Pedro Leon’s registration means the key midfielder is still unavailable for selection. With that in mind, los Azulones have done pretty well so far, although they were pretty fortunate to pick up maximum points from games against Almeria, Malaga and Real Sociedad, having been on the back foot for large periods of those matches. Two injury time goals helped Getafe end a three-match losing run on the road, but with team’s performances still pretty disappointing, I seriously doubt they will be able to match revived Atletico Madrid, especially as three more players in addition to Pedro Leon are unavailable for selection.

Alvaro Arroyo, Alvaro Vazquez and Miguel Herrero are out injured, although Baba Diawara is back in contention after recovering from injury.

Atletico back in business

It was never going to be easy for Atletico to repeat last season’s success especially as a host of first team regulars left in the summer, and even though decent replacements were signed, los Colchoneros needed a while to hit the ground running. The good news is that despite some under-par performances in the opening exchanges, Diego Simeone’s charges are in a good position to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages, while they can close the gap behind La Liga leaders Barcelona to mere two points by winning at Getafe. Atletico have been pretty impressive of late, winning five of last six matches in all competitions, and keeping clean sheets in each of those wins, so they clearly go into this game high on confidence. The reality is Diego Simeone is still searching for his strongest starting line-up, but things are slowly falling into place as witnessed by comfortable triumphs over Espanyol and Malmo FF. And with almost all key men available for the local derby against Getafe, los Colchoneros look more than capable of extending the good run of results at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

Captain Gabi Fernandez returns to the side, but Cristian Ansaldo and Tiago Mendes are out injured and they will not be in contention.

Verdict

Getafe may have taken ten points so far, but team’s performances were pretty disappointing and with four important players missing, los Azulones clearly face an uphill struggle against Atletico. Los Colchoneros will be determined to take advantage of their rich vein of form to win this match and effectively revive their title bid.

Top pick: Away win   1.60 (3/5) @ Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 1: Atletico/Atletico   2.40 (7/5) @ Paddy Power

Alternative pick 2: Atletico to win to nil   2.25 (5/4) @ bet365