Atletico Madrid 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 Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone insists that they will take nothing for granted.
“Dreaming big means dreaming about the next match, going game by game. 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,” said the Argentine.
Barcelona, who are third on the La Liga log, 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 Barcelona 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. 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,” says Flick.
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 Martinezdoing 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.”
Watch all La Liga action this weekend on DStv or DStv Stream.
Broadcast details
Friday 17 January
22:00: Espanyol v Real Valladolid – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
Saturday 18 January
15:00: Osasuna v Rayo Vallecano – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
17:15: Leganes v Atletico Madrid – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
19:30: Celta Vigo v Athletic Bilbao – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
22:00: Getafe v Barcelona – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
Sunday 19 January
15:00: Real Betis v Alaves – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
17:15: Real Madrid v Las Palmas – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
19:30: Valencia v Real Sociedad – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
22:00: Girona v Sevilla – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3
Monday 20 January
22:00: Villarreal v Mallorca – LIVE on SuperSport La Liga and SuperSport Maximo 3