Image source: Alamy Stock Photo
2025-26 Spanish La Liga
Matchday 33
Elche v Atletico Madrid
Estadio Martinez Valero
Elche, Spain
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Kick-off is at 19h00
Atletico Madrid would do well not to take Elche lightly when they square off at the Estadio Martinez Valero on Wednesday, April 22.
Los Colchoneros have had a tough run of fixtures over the last month which saw them face Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga before also coming up against the Blaugrana in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Diego Simeone's side lost both league encounters against Los Blancos (3-2) and Barca (2-1), but they got the better of the Catalan giants at the Camp Nou, winning 2-0 in the first leg.
However, Atleti suffered a third straight defeat in the top flight after going down 2-1 to Sevilla on April 11 - the first time they had lost three on the spin this season.
Atletico have now fallen four points behind Villarreal in the race for third place and they travel to Elche where the hosts are unbeaten in their last four games at the Estadio Martinez Valero.
Image source: Alamy Stock Photo
Los Franjiverdes have been in freefall since the turn of the year after going undefeated in their opening seven matches and winning five times before the festive break.
But Eder Sarabia's side embarked on an 11-game winless run at the start of 2026 to get dragged into the relegation quagmire before enjoying a resurgence of late.
The top-flight newcomers edged Valencia 1-0 on April 11 to make it two wins in their last three games and they're just one point adrift of safety in 18th position with nine fixture remaining in the season.
Simeone named his youngest-ever starting line-up in the league against Los Che, handing three more debuts to Dani Martinez, Javier Bonar and Rayane Belaid.
The Argentine saw plenty of positives from his youthful team and felt they might have come away with a share of the spoils on another day.
"For me, age doesn't matter. Some players understand the game, others don't," he said. "We did more things right than wrong; the truth is that the opposition really needed the win.
"We competed very well, we couldn't create as many goal-scoring opportunities as we'd have liked. We had far more possession than I would have preferred.
"I'd have preferred us to be direct and intense in our transitions, but we couldn't manage it. We ended up with a narrow result that we could have drawn."
Head-to-Head (Last Five La Liga Meetings)
Matches - 5
Elche wins - 1
Atletico wins - 3
Draws - 1
La Liga Matchday 33 fixtures
Tuesday, April 21
19h00: Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna
19h00: Real Mallorca v Valencia
21h30: Girona v Real Betis
21h30: Real Madrid v Alaves
Wednesday, April 22
19h00: Elche v Atletico Madrid
20h00: Real Sociedad v Getafe
21h30: Barcelona v Celta Vigo
Thursday, April 23
19h00: Levante v Sevilla
20h00: Rayo Vallecano v Espanyol
21h30: Real Oviedo v Villarreal
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