The last game of the year 2012 for Atletico sees the year end on a high no matter what the outcome may be.
| Atlético Madrid | Matches | Win | Draw | Lose |
| Overall | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 |
| Home | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Away | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Celta de Vigo | Matches | Win | Draw | Lose |
| Overall | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Home | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Away | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
Almost one year back, Diego Simeone was appointed as the manager of Athletico in the middle of the season where Athletico were knocked out of the Spanish Cup to a lower division team and were in the bottom half of the table. But after his arrival, Atletico has seen 12 months of utter joy in a long long time. Simeone has guided Los Rojiblancos to success in the Europa League and European Super Cup and they will finish above fierce rivals Real Madrid going into the winter break even if they lose this game tonight.
Simone’s Win % as the manager of Atletico :
| From | To | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Win | Draws | Loss | Win % | ||
| Dec 2011 | Present | 57 | 39 | 8 | 10 | 68.42 |
The above statistic might not be all too convincing for a neutral but 7 out of 10 of those losses were experienced last season when Atletico were still struggling and were yet to get going under their new man. He told AS: “We are halfway through the championship and we want to continue in the same line. I feel an enormous happiness because when we arrived the situation wasn’t easy and the players have made a great effort to be able to be competitive. “The most difficult thing is to maintain the stability. When the club makes such a huge effort, the players have to have the capacity to maintain the stability necessary to continue improving. Our objective is to be competitive in everything.”
Another person having an equally good time if not better as Simone is Atletico’s main striker Radamel Falcao. His stats :
| GAMES | GOALS | ASSISTS | SHOTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 17 | 1 | 55 |
This also includes a game in which he scored 5 goals, a feat which the ‘big two” of La Liga : Messi and Ronaldo have failed to do in their careers.
The hosts will be without left-back Filipe Luis who hobbled off with a thigh injury at half-time in the 4-1 defeat to Barcelona last weekend while the rest of the squad is available.
Celta meanwhile remain just two points off the relegation zone after a 1-0 defeat by Real Betis on Monday night and defender Carlos Bellvis is wary of a backlash from Simeone’s men after suffering their heaviest defeat of the season last time out.
Vallodolid Barcelona
Who can stop the mighty Barca? They are having one of those seasons where everything they touch turns to gold. They are in sublime form and under their new manager Tito Vilanova, they look just as good as they were under Pep. But sadly Tito is undergoing surgery and the prayers offered all over the world for the Barca manager will only make the players thrive hard for another win. Each of them would want to get onto the scoreboard to celebrate by showing a gesture of respect and a get well soon sign to their manager.
Facing a Barca side itself is a nightmare for most of the La Liga clubs but facing a Barca side who’d want to win to prove a point will make matters even worse for Valladolid and they could finish the 1st half of the season outside the top 10.
Match Facts :
Barcelona have scored at least 2 goals in their last 17 away matches in La Liga.
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Barcelona’s last 12away games in La Liga.
Barcelona have won their last 9 matches in La Liga.
Barcelona have won their last 5 matches against Valladolid in all competitions.
Barcelona have kept a clean sheet in their last 4 matches against Valladolid in all competitions.
This weekend’s best La Liga fixture sees third-placed Real Madrid face a tricky away trip to dangerous Malaga, who enter the weekend in fourth place.
With the two teams so evenly matched,it will be hard to predict a winner.
Madrid slumped 13 points adrift of Barca on Sunday after being held to a home draw by struggling Espanyol and then seeing Tito Vilanova’s men brush aside second-placed Atletico Madrid 4-1 at the Nou Camp.
Madrid coach Jose Mourinho admitted after the Espanyol game that it would be “practically impossible” to now retain their title, and with Barca having dropped only two points all season, it is tough to see how the nine-time European champions can claw back the difference.
But Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has warned runaway leaders Barcelona his side are not going to relinquish their Primera Division title without a fight. Benzema told France Football magazine: “I hope we can give chase to Barca. It will be tough, but we haven’t said the final word on this.”
Player Stats :
Madrid will be desperate to make amends for their Espanyol setback and end 2012 on a winning note this weekend, but it will not be easy for Mourinho’s men as they must travel to fourth-placed Malaga.
Malaga have already beaten the likes of AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg and Valencia at home this season and another high-profile scalp on Saturday would see them move to within two points of Madrid.
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