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Preview: Atletico Madrid look to bounce back with a win at Eibar

A 2-1 defeat last time out will ensure that Atletico hit the ground running as they look to banish their doubters

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Atletico Madrid travel to the Ipurua Municipal Stadium on Saturday evening at 7.30pm to take on an unbeaten Eibar team.

Having suffered a heartbreaking loss to Barcelona last time out in La Liga, Atletico will look to bounce back against an Eibar team who lie one place ahead of them in the league with one more point to their name after three games played.

Atletico started the season with an unconvincing victory against Las Palmas and followed that up with an impressive win over Sevilla. It was a scrapy affair to begin with and Atletico were defending deep for much of the game but managed to beat their opponents 3-0 in the end. The air was taken out of their ballon last weekend when Barcelona travelled south and took three points home from the Vicente Calderon.

Eibar are unbeaten in their last four league games and hung on to their top flight status due to financial issues faced by Elche. They have started the season well and won their first two games before drawing 0-0 with Malaga in their last outing.

Diego Simeone understands that the team are undergoing an evolution of sorts but wants to ensure that his side maintain the essence of what makes them such a feared opponent.

Finding ways to win games away from home will be key to their involvement in the race for La Liga honours deep into the second half of the season.

Based on the attacking promise we saw in Turkey during the week, which Simeone intends to continue with, we should see more opportunities for Atletico's striking department.

Team News

Cholo looks set to continue with Antoine Griezmann, Luciano Vietto and Jackson Martinez as an attacking trident following a successful first outing versus Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Griezmann started on the left but had the freedom to drift wherever he wanted and found himself on the end of two excellent chances in the first half that he converted to give Atletico a 2-0 lead.

Gabi was rested mid-week but will return to partner Tiago at the base of midfield with Saul Niguez likely to miss out.

Guilherme Siquiera looks set to be replaced by fit again Filipe Luis despite a strong showing in a rare opportunity in the Champions League.

Jose Gimenez looks set to partner Uruguayan teammates Diego Godin in the heart of Atletico's defense despite suffering a slight knee strain.