Atlético Madrid go in search of an away win once again

Atlético Madrid have not been in fine form on the road during 2015 and this has caused them to suffer in the La Liga standings. Diego Simeone’s have contested five away league matches in 2015 and the balance has not been positive – they have taken just five points from a possible 15 on the road since the turn of the year.

They lost at Barcelona and Celta, they drew at Sevilla and Espanyol, while they managed to come away from Eibar with all three points. That win against the Basque team (on January 31) was the last time Simeone’s charges won away from the Calderón.

In addition to those league matches, Atlético also lost away at Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League and away at Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, while they also drew at Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey too.

This slump on the road has cost Atlético dearly; in La Liga they have slipped away from Barcelona and Real Madrid in the fight for the title and Valencia have leapfrogged them into third place. The fight to recover third place, which includes the right to play in the Champions League, requires a win at Córdoba this weekend and a demonstration of Atleti’s ability to compete away from the Vicente Calderón once again.

Another fact should worry Atlético. Since beating Almería 3-0 at home, the team have suffered an alarming shortage of goals. In Leverkusen, in the Champions League, they failed to score and they ended goalless against Sevilla too. In the following Liga matchday, against Valencia, they scored once, and it was a midfielder, Koke, who got on the scoresheet. They subsequently failed to find the back of the net at Espanyol and then beat Leverkusen 1-0 at home thanks to another goal from a midfielder, this time from Mario Suárez.

Atlético beat Getafe last time out, triumphing at home thanks to goals from Fernando Torres and Tiago.

Atleti’s two main goalscorers, Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann, have not scored since the 3-0 win at home to Almería on February 21. Mandzukic scored a penalty that day, while Griezmann bagged a brace.

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