Atlético de Madrid return to the newly crowned Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday afternoon to face newly promoted Leganés on matchday 10 of LaLiga.

It may not feel like third-placed Atlético Madrid (4-5-0, 17 points) is one of only two unbeaten teams in LaLiga after the second international break, but it has been four years since Los Colchoneros have been unbeaten so far in the league campaign. And Atlético – which boasts the league's best defense to date – has not lost any of its last eight meetings with Leganés dating back to 2016, although it has been a while since the two sides last met.

“The international break was an opportunity to work with enthusiasm, analyze situations where we need to improve and talk to the players who stayed,” Diego Simeone told reporters on Saturday. “We look forward to representing these changes on the field tomorrow.”

After four years in Spain's second division, Leganés (1-5-3, 8 points) is finally back in the top flight – although the Pepineros have struggled to put the ball in the net and may find it difficult to avoid slipping to the right Back to LaLiga Hypermotion. Even after the surprise signing of Borussia Dortmund striker Sébastien Haller on deadline day, Leganés are in 17th place with just five goals scored in nine weeks; The team's top scorer so far is midfielder Juan Cruz, who has scored three goals with just 0.94 expected goals against.

Photo by Diego Souto/Getty Images

Things are likely to be a little quieter at the Metropolitano on Sunday as Atlético are serving a partial one-match stadium ban (reduced from three games on appeal), limited to the Grada de Animación in the stadium's Fondo Sur. The ban was imposed following incidents at the derby against Real Madrid last month; The club's own investigation is ongoing as it attempts to identify and expel the socios who threw lighters (and other objects) at Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Atlético then took another step to stamp out this harmful fan behavior by banning ticket sales to fans at the Grada de Animación for the team's next five away games – including the opening Copa del Rey match against sixth division side Unió Esportiva Vic and the Champions League. League showdown against Paris Saint-Germain on November 6th.

“It affects every team when the stands behind the goal are closed. These fans are always singing,” Simeone said. “But I have no doubt that while 5,000 fans will be missing, we have 55,000 more to make up for those who won’t be there tomorrow.”

As for the team on Sunday, Marcos Llorente will not play as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury; César Azpilicueta remains out with a muscle injury and Robin Le Normand (subdural hematoma) is expected to miss at least another month. Simeone tested Javi Galán in training this week as a left-sided centre-back, while Antoine Griezmann played in midfield. It is uncertain whether Argentina internationals Julián Alvarez and Rodrigo de Paul will start in the first game after the 'break', although Nahuel Molina will start at right wing-back.

Finally, on Saturday, Simeone addressed the simmering Samu Omorodion controversy after the 20-year-old striker claimed he was ostracized and mistreated at Atlético before his move to FC Porto. El Cholo this week virtually confirmed Relevo's reporting that Samu had sent a WhatsApp message to coach and sporting director Andrea Berta in June asking to leave the club.

“Samu knows very well that on June 28 he sent a message in which he made it clear that he did not want to be at Atlético de Madrid,” Simeone said.

Date Oct 20, 2024

Location Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid

Kick-off time 4:15 p.m. CEST, 3:15 p.m. BST, 10:15 a.m. ET, 7:15 a.m. PT

Available TV/Streaming ESPN+ (USA), Movistar+ (Spain)