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Atletico Madrid's title credentials will be put through a stern test this weekend as Valencia come to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium for an enticing La Liga encounter.
With 14 wins and just a single defeat from 17 games so far, Los Rojiblancos have a healthy lead in the race for the Spanish crown.
They're seven points clear of city rivals and current holders Real Madrid with a game in hand and remain 10 ahead of Barcelona.
Fair to say, it's been a prolific run in the league for Diego Simeone's men as the season approaches the half-way mark. They will be looking ahead to their first top-flight success in six years.
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Valencia, known for taking big scalps in the league, will hope to throw a spanner in Atletico's works despite a frankly disappointing campaign so far.
They've won only four times from 19 games and languish 14th on the table, just three points clear of the relegation zone.
However, Los Che have still managed to beat Real Madrid in a stunning 4-1 win, and also held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou. With that in mind, there are warning signs for Atletico.
Atletico Madrid vs Valencia Head-To-Head
In 47 clashes between the sides, Atletico lead with 18 wins. However, Valencia are not far behind with 13 victories of their own.
The Madrid side have already beaten Los Che once this season, but were held to a 1-1 draw in the corresponding fixture last season.
Atletico Madrid Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-L-W-W
Valencia Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-W-W-D
Atletico Madrid vs Valencia Team News
Atletico Madrid
The home side will be without the services of Moussa Dembele, Hector Herrera, and Mario Hermoso, all of whom are injured. Meanwhile, Keiran Trippier will be serving his eight-game ban after the Spanish FA upheld his suspension.
On the flip side, midfielder Koke is available for selection again after serving his one-game ban in the last league game.
Injured: Moussa Dembele, Hector Herrera, and Mario Hermoso
Suspended: Kieran Trippier
Unavailable: None
Valencia
Jasper Cillessen is the only notable absentee for Los Che as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.
But in a boost for manager Javi Garcia, striker Kevin Gameiro is back from injury and available for selection again.
Injured: Jasper Cillessen
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Kevin Gameiro
Atletico Madrid vs Valencia Predicted XI
Atletico Madrid (3-5-2): Jan Oblak; Stefan Savic, Felipe Luis, Jose Gimenez, Sime Vrsaljko; Koke, Thomas Lemar, Marcos Llorente, Yannick Carrasco; Angel Correa, Luis Suarez.
Valencia (4-4-2): Jaume Domenech; Thierry Correia, Mouctar Diakhaby, Gabriel Paulista, Jose Gaya; Denis Cheryshev, Carlos Soler, Uros Racic, Goncalo Guedes; Maxi Gomez, Kevin Gameiro.
Atletico Madrid vs Valencia Prediction
As we saw with some other proverbial big sides, it's not easy to beat Valencia, who are simply unplayable on their day.
They've taken points off Atletico on quite a few occasions in recent years. However, this is the strongest Atletico side in years and we expect them to secure a narrow win against Valencia.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Valencia
