Atletico Madrid will have to cope without three first-team stars due to injury when they take on bitter rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final. Koke is the latest player sidelined, joining Diego Costa and Thomas Lemar on the treatment table ahead of the showpiece clash.
Koke picked up a thigh problem in the semi-final victory over Barcelona, during which Diego Simeone’s side came from behind to win 3-2.
The Spanish midfielder opened the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City on Thursday but picked up a knock and is unlikely to be risked in this weekend’s final.
Lionel Messi had pulled Barcelona level before former Atletico star Antoine Griezmann put Ernesto Valverde’s side into the lead shortly after the hour.
However, Simeone’s men hit back through Alvaro Morata’s penalty then stole a late victory with Angel Correa’s winner four minutes from time.
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Semi-final hero Correa will start on the opposite wing while Joao Felix and Morata will lead the line in Costa’s absence.
The latter has already scored 11 goals for club and country this season, proving the doubters wrong after his tough time in the Premier League with Chelsea.
Vitolo and Marcos Llorente are pushing to be included in the starting XI, with the pair having featured off the bench last time out.
Atletico have only won the Spanish Super Cup on two previous occasions, last lifting the trophy in 2014.
This competition is unlikely to be high on Simeone’s list of priorities with a Champions League clash against Liverpool looming.
His side are currently third in La Liga, just five points behind joint leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Simeone is well aware of the size of their task this weekend.
“Every time Real Madrid play, they transmit that they have to win and they do win,” said Simeone. “They are without [Karim] Benzema, [Gareth] Bale and [Eden] Hazard, but that doesn’t change a thing, they’ll be looking to field their strongest side.
“Their distribution is excellent and they’ll have players arriving to join the attack from midfield. They’ve got Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo [Goes], and if they play the team will have more velocity and more possession, so we will have to think about how we can attack those positions and punish them in the way we want.”
Atletico Madrid predicted line-up vs Real Madrid – Spanish Super Cup
(4-4-2): Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Felipe, Lodi; Correa, Herrera, Partey, Saul; Morata, Felix