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Atlético have lost its past three meetings with Athletic. Atlético de Madrid host Athletic Club on Saturday night in a game that probably will determine whether Atlético?s decade-long stretch of playing UEFA Champions League football continues into the 2024/25 season.
Atlético Madrid (19-4-9, 61 points) return to the comfy confines of the Cívitas Metropolitano, where Diego Simeone?s men have picked up 43 out of a possible 48 points in LALIGA this season and have lost only twice in all competitions. However, Ernesto Valverde?s Athletic (16-10-6, 58 points) inflicted one of those two losses, defeating Atlético in the capital back in February on its way to winning the Copa del Rey for the first time in 40 years.
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Los Leones now are eyeing a return to the Champions League after a 10-year absence ? and doing the double over Atleti for the second time this century would give Athletic the vital head-to-head advantage in the top-four race with five games remaining.
?We?re looking forward to putting Sunday?s bad performance behind us,? Simeone told reporters on Friday. ?We have the excitement of playing at home again, being in front of our fans, and playing a good game.?
In Simeone?s 11 full seasons on the touchline, Atlético have failed to reach the 20-win mark in LALIGA only once. While Atlético are more than likely to reach that win tota...