Atletico Madrid will have been content with the result on Wednesday night against Borussia Dortmund, but do not face an easy task inbetween that and their trip to the Signal Iduna Park. Third-place Girona will visit the Metropolitano, and although they are on a four-game losing streak away from home, they will be keen to take a huge step towards Champions League qualification.
Behind them lurk Athletic Club, who will no doubt be keen to do what they can to upset the odds and leave Los Rojiblancos out of the top four. As per Marca, Diego Simeone will rotate against Girona, but not the whole side. Axel Witsel, Jose Maria Gimenez, Cesar Azpilicueta and Rodrigo de Paul are all said to have finished the game particularly fatigued.
While Marcos Llorente is likely to start due to his incredible fitness, one of Koke Resurreccion or de Paul will be rested, perhaps giving way for Pablo Barrios or Saul Niguez. The chances are that Reinildo Mandava and Stefan Savic start, while Alvaro Morata is likely to continue up front too. Simeone has reaffirmed his faith in Morata, who performed well against Dortmund, but has struggled in front of goal in recent weeks. He is four shy of the target of 18 that Simeone set him at the end of the season with eight league games to go.
🇮🇹🤝 Alessandro Del Piero: “Antoine Griezmann… this guy is unbelievable. Despite the fact that his mind is the most precious thing that he has, what he can put together into the field is out of control. He can play every single ball in any place of the field in the right way, in… pic.twitter.com/Mg8iA55wCP
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) April 11, 2024
Perhaps the biggest concern is over Antoine Griezmann. He was once again outstanding on the big occasion, but finished the match with an ice pack on his ankle, although it is believed that it was somewhat precautionary and he will be available for both Girona and Dortmund.
No doubt Los Rojiblancos will be keeping a close eye on that, as they should have a much better idea of any injury after 24 hours for the swelling to go down. With Memphis Depay out, Angel Correa is their only other natural option up front.
