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SPAIN, MADRID | THE INDEPENDENT | Atletico Madrid’s ambition to win the 2024-25 La Liga title will take centre stage in Matchday 20, as they face Leganes in a local derby, while rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona will face Las Palmas and Getafe respectively.
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Atletico will face fellow Madrid club Leganes at the Municipal de Butarque Stadium late on Saturday afternoon, looking to keep up the excellent form which saw them sitting pretty at the top of the log heading into 2025.
Los Rojiblancos have not lost a league match to Los Pepineros since way back in 2002 (when both teams were in the second tier of Spanish football), but manager Diego Simeone insists that they will take nothing for granted.
“Dreaming big means dreaming about the next match, going game by game,” said the Argentine.
“It is football and football turns, it changes, with moments of difficulty and others that lead you to be very good. We know what we have, where we are going and we try to improve.”
Barcelona will have the chance to respond to Atletico’s result when they face Getafe at the Coliseum Stadium late on Saturday night. The Catalans have lost the blazing momentum they enjoyed earlier in the season, but manager Hansi Flick insists that they will continue to dream big.
“Nothing has changed. When I am driving to work at 6.30am, I do so happily. When I am at the training sessions I am happy because I am coaching excellent players who love to work hard and compete – the connection I have with them is brilliant,” noted the German. “I can promise you that we will fight for everything, every game, every point. That’s our goal and the players are ready for it.”
The last of the ‘Big Three’ in action in this round will be champions Real Madrid, who will host Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium late on Sunday afternoon. Ordinarily, Los Blancos would be expected to sweep aside their opponents, but Los Amarilos have been one of the revelations of the season, with manager Diego Martinez doing extraordinary work since taking charge in October.
Martinez has naturally received high praise for the turnaround at the Canary Islands club, but he has instead turned the focus on his charges ahead of their clash against Real: “The players give everything [and] the team is steadily becoming more like what we want it to be. Everything ultimately comes down to the players. The first step to getting results here is believing, and that’s the most important thing.”
MATCHES IN DETAILS
Friday 17 January
22:00: Espanyol v Real Valladolid
Saturday 18 January
15:00: Osasuna v Rayo Vallecano
17:15: Leganes v Atletico Madrid
19:30: Celta Vigo v Athletic Bilbao
22:00: Getafe v Barcelona
Sunday 19 January
15:00: Real Betis v Alaves
17:15: Real Madrid v Las Palmas
19:30: Valencia v Real Sociedad
22:00: Girona v Sevilla
Monday 20 January
22:00: Villarreal v Mallorca
