Atlético de Madrid - RCD Mallorca: Injuries, injuries, injuries

It’s a quick turnaround for Atlético Madrid following Sunday’s slim loss to FC Barcelona, as the Colchoneros return to the Cívitas Metropolitano to host Mallorca on the 120th anniversary of the club’s founding.

Atlético (18-6-6, 60 points) have yet to beat Mallorca (11-7-12, 40 points) since the island club won promotion back to LaLiga last season. Mallorca have won three consecutive meetings with Atleti for the first time since 1998 and have taken points from three of the past four visits to the capital dating to 2011.

Photo by Cristian Trujillo/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

“We don’t stray from the game to game philosophy and from keeping an eye on tomorrow’s opponent, who has been doing a great job since (coach Javier) Aguirre’s arrival,” Diego Simeone told the media on Tuesday.

Atlético are hoping not just to return to winning ways on Wednesday, but also to commemorate the club’s 120th anniversary, which happens to fall on gameday. Atleti were founded on April 26, 1903, by Basque students (and fans of Athletic Club de Bilbao) studying in Madrid, who wanted to form a new branch of Athletic Club.

While Atlético will be aiming to end the season strongly and in LaLiga’s top three once again, El Cholo won’t be able to field his strongest side in preparation for Mallorca’s visit. Far from it, actually:

• Stefan Savić broke a bone in his pinky toe Sunday and is likely to miss the season’s final eight games, a big blow to the defense despite the Montenegrin’s shaky form this season.
• Marcos Llorente re-injured his adductor in training on Monday and is probably out for the remainder of the season.
• Jan Oblak has a neck problem and will not play, with Ivo Grbić taking his place in goal.

The good news is Koke avoided a muscle tear and trained normally on Tuesday after missing the Barcelona game. Memphis trained with the group Tuesday as well — though Atlético are still being extremely cautious with the player, and he’s been left out of the squad yet again.

“I don’t stop to wait for compliments, I get involved in reaching the objectives, improving the players, so that they feel identified with a club that celebrates 120 years of history tomorrow,” Simeone said. “All of this represents something very important to me as a coach and I try to involve the players in it.”

Date April 26, 2023

Location Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Madrid

Kickoff time 7:30 p.m. CEST, 6:30 p.m. BST, 1:30 p.m. EST, 10:30 a.m. PT

Available TV/streaming ESPN+ (United States), DAZN (Spain), LaLiga TV (United Kingdom)