Antoine Griezmann heads to Atlético Madrid on loan
FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid have reached an agreement for the loan of Antoine Griezmann for a season with the option of a further season. The Madrid club will pay the player’s wages and there is a compulsory permanent transfer clause.
Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Club: Line-ups
Atletico Madrid
Athletic Club
Atletico Hungry for Points
#1
Atletico opened their 2021-22 La Liga campaign with two narrow victories, recording a 2-1 success at Celta Vigo on August 15 before running out 1-0 winners over Elche in their first home match of the campaign. Atletico were also in Champions League action on Wednesday night, opening their group-stage campaign with a goalless draw at home to Porto.
#2
The capital giants now have three straight league matches against Athletic, Getafe and Alaves before travelling to San Siro at the end of September to take on AC Milan in their second Group B fixture.
#3
A total of 10 points from four matches has left the reigning Spanish champions in third position in the table, and they will be confident of launching another strong title challenge, with Barcelona and Real Madrid both having their issues off the field over the summer.
#4
Athletic, meanwhile, have also made an encouraging start to the new season, collecting eight points from their opening four fixtures, which has left them in fifth position heading into the next set of fixtures. The Basque outfit opened their 2021-22 campaign with back-to-back draws against Elche and Barcelona before recording a 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo in their last game before the international break.
#5
Athletic won 11, drew 13 and lost 14 of their 38 league matches last season to finish in 10th position, some 15 points behind the top six, and they will be looking to close that gap this term.
DPP Verdict
This is a very difficult match for Atletico, with Athletic starting the campaign in impressive fashion. Simeone’s side found it tough to break Porto down in the Champions League, but we are expecting the Spanish champions to pick up all three points courtesy of a narrow win in the capital.
