Valencia – Atletico Madrid

Atletico should redeem themselves for a defeat in the previous round

In the final match of the third round of La Liga, Valencia play at home against Atletico. "The Mice have started the new season with Gennaro Gattuso in charge. So far, the start has been predictable. Valencia beat Girona at home with a minimal score, and then lost away to Athletic. Both matches turned out in a close style. In Valencia, there was a quick elimination. The hosts had to contain the attacking moves of the opposition. They managed to do so. In the away game against Athletic, a mistake by goalkeeper Maradishvili decided a lot. The goalkeeper risks being sent off in the near future. In attack, Valencia did not look like a hopeless team. The best moment was in the last attack - the hosts were largely lucky to get the win. The main issue Gattuso is deciding right now is the replacement for Gonzalo Gedes. The Portuguese has been a key performer for Valencia in the last two seasons. The coach is making do with internal reserves for now. In other words, we can say that Valencia's squad has become weaker. Of the newcomers, only old friend Gattuso Castillejo has a key role at the moment. The winger has already passed his peak career. Atletico travel to Valencia to close out the defeat to Villarreal. The first game in the Spanish championship has encouraged optimism. Simeone's side thrashed Getafe. Alvaro Morata had a great game. The next game didn't work out at all. In the match against Villarreal, the Indians were forced to go head to head. The game was dull and close, and once again Atletico were beaten with their own weapons. Madrid traditionally have problems in positional attacks against organised and highly-ranked defenders. There are no significant line-up difficulties between the two teams. Atletico cannot rely solely on their main defender Stefan Savic. That's largely why Axel Witsel is being tried in the defensive treble. Valencia have lost striker Duro and full-back Correia to injuries. A close game is being watched at the Mestalla. Gattuso has made it a habit back in Italy to practice defensive football in games against top clubs. In addition, the coach is likely to refer to Villarreal's tactics from last season, when the ball was simply given to the opponents. Valencia often liked to play deep in defence last season as well. Atletico, on the other hand, usually emerge from defeat with double motivation for the next game. The quality of the squad still allows them to count on winning just one or two individual actions. An odds higher than 2.00 for the visitors seems excessive.