Atletico Madrid is not yet playing an outstanding 2022/23 season. In the Champions League, Diego Simeone's team only got one point from two games against Club Brugge, in the league they have already lost eight points, but they have a very good position in the table. They have only three points less than Barcelona and we are certainly expecting an exciting fight for the places that lead directly to the Champions League. In the previous round, they won a very important three points against their big rival, Athletic Bilbao in a game that was not at all nice to watch and in which Atletico Madrid sent only one shot on target. But this team is known for the fact that it knows how to play for the result, and they showed that now. Despite a fantastic team that could play very offensive football, Diego Simeone does not give up his defensive style of play and it brings him results, at least in the domestic championship. Today they will have another, possibly uncertain match, as Rayo Vallecano, who has been playing very well so far this season, is their guest. Despite the decent performances of the guests, I have to give the advantage to Atletico Madrid in this match because they simply have a much better team and play in front of a home crowd where they rarely lose. The saga surrounding Griezmann and Barcelona has finally been resolved and the great Frenchman can play from the first minute of the match.

Similar to Atlético, Rayo doesn't play too offensively and it wouldn't be a surprise if we don't see a lot of goals in this game. They are currently in 10th position in the table with 11 points. So far, the schedule of matches has been in their hands, because they have met mainly with teams that are in the lower part of the table (Majorca, Elche, Osasuna, Almeria, Getafe), but they did not shine in those matches either and they have quite a few points won. A difficult game is now imminent, because Atletico seems to be getting in shape right now and the guests have been lacking in attack in the last few weeks. That's especially important against the Simeone team, because without engaging the opposing defense, it will probably be a classic Atlético game.