Atletico Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the second round of the Copa del Rey when they take on fifth-tier outfit Almazan on Saturday night.
Diego Simeone’s side will enter the contest off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Mallorca in La Liga on Wednesday, while Almazan drew 1-1 with Mirandes II in Tercera Federacion Group Eight on Saturday.
Almazan, as mentioned, play their league football in Tercera Federacion Group Eight, which is now the fifth tier of Spanish football.
Diego Rojas’s side will be looking to pull off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition on Saturday evening, as they take on one of the most glamorous clubs in Spanish football.
Almazan will actually bring a five-game unbeaten run into this contest, although four of those matches have finished level, including a 1-1 draw with Mirandes II in the league last weekend.
The team are currently ninth in their domestic table, boasting 10 points from their opening nine matches courtesy of a record of two wins, four draws and three defeats.
Atletico, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Mallorca in La Liga on Wednesday, which made it five games without a victory for the out-of-form side.
Simeone’s team have only picked up one point from their last three league matches, which has seen them slide down into sixth position in the table, while they had a disastrous Champions League group-stage campaign, finishing bottom of Group B, failing to even qualify for the Europa League.
The Copa del Rey is already Atletico’s only realistic chance of securing major silverware this season, so the competition has certainly taken on added importance.
The Red and Whites have won this tournament on 10 previous occasions, making them the fourth-most successful team in the history of the competition behind Barcelona (31), Athletic Bilbao (23) and Real Madrid (19).
Atletico last lifted the trophy in 2012-13 by beating Real Madrid in the final, and it could provide a welcome distraction due to the team’s difficulties in La Liga and European football.
The pressure is seemingly growing on Simeone due to the team’s struggles, but the club allegedly still have no desire to replace the Argentine at this moment in time.
Almazan form (all competitions):
LDDWDD
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
WDLLDL
We say: Almazan 0-4 Atletico Madrid
Atletico have struggled in recent weeks, but it is very, very difficult to imagine a shock result occurring on Saturday. Almazan are likely to be in for a tough 90 minutes against the capital giants, and we are expecting Simeone’s side to comfortably progress into the next round of the competition.