Atlético is the only Spanish side still left in three competitions this season, but after a poor run recently, La Liga now looks to be the least of their priorities behind a Copa Del Rey final and a Euro league semi-final against Liverpool. On the other hand Villarreal is fighting hard to reach a top six finish.

Villarreal
League standing: 8th on 46 points
Ruled out: Marcos Senna and Gonzalo Rodriguez
Home game record: 11-3-2

While Atletico go from one poor performance after the other in the league,  Villarreal is making a late charge for a place in next season's Europa League and now find themselves within 2 points of the 6th and qualifying position with 6 matches to play. Coming off a 3-0 defeat at Getafe this midweek, Villarreal are set to return home where they have been constant this season. They have won the last 5 home games and seem to have found their form at exactly the right time of the season. They will miss Marcos Senna and Gonzalo Rodriguez for this game which instead will be replaced by young players Jose Manuel Catala and Mateo Musacchio in the squad. Whether they are intended a starting role is doubtful though. Attacker Nilmar is their top-scorer with goals but really their strength is their strong organisation and strong defence. They seldom let in many goals and are strong with the ball which they also displayed recently when they trashed Sevilla 3-0 at home. 

Atlético Madrid
League standings: 10th on 40 points
Ruled out: Raul Garcia
Away game record: 2-4-10

Atlético were hammered 3-0 by Espanyol in Barcelona on Sunday and were arguably even worse as they went down 2-1 at home to bottom club Xerez on Wednesday night. This has left them 8 points behind European football next season and it seems unlikely that the can close that gap which will be a huge disappointment for a team that has qualified for the Champions League in each of the last two campaigns. Even thought coach Sanchez Flores won’t admit it, chances are that they are already now focusing on the Euro League semi-final against Liverpool coming up this mid-week. Returning for this game is Tomas Ujfalusi and Ignacio Camacho but their return can not change the fact that Atletico has been terrible away from home this season. Only 2 wins speaks for itself and with more important games coming up I seriously doubt that the players can perform at their best in this game. Atletico topscorer Diego Forlan has done his best to keep them in contention but he has been somewhat left alone in-front with little support. Jose Antonio Reyes has been very unstable throughout the season which just adds to the perception of him as huge talent, that never was capable of transferring that onto the pitch.

Conclusion
It’s 2 teams that normally play close games. The first head-to-head this season was won by Villarreal 2-1 at Atletico in December and we could easily be in for a repeat of the score again. The Atletico players will undoubtedly have the Liverpool semi-final in the back of their head and if you are not 100% focused against Villarreal, you will get punished. Focus and motivation will be decisive and I recommend betting on Villarreal to win.