Atlético de Madrid will conclude their home fixtures for the 2023/24 season with a game against Osasuna on Sunday evening. With a record of 23-4-9 and 73 points, Atlético has achieved their primary goal of securing a spot in La Liga’s top four and ensuring Champions League football for the 2024/25 season. However, the final home game remains significant, as Atlético can set a new club record for home victories in a single league season (17) and potentially overtake Girona for third place if Girona (on 75 points) either draw or lose at Valencia.
Head coach Diego Simeone has emphasized the need for further improvement next season to stay ahead of their competitors. He noted, “Real Sociedad are growing, Athletic won the Copa. Now we’re 11 points ahead of them, and many thought they would finish fourth. Girona are two points ahead of us and have had a great season. We have to improve for next season.”
Osasuna, with a record of 11-8-17 and 41 points, will part ways with long-serving manager Jagoba Arrasate this summer. Despite a six-game winless streak, they remain comfortably mid-table, even without their injured top scorer Ante Budimir (16 goals). Osasuna has lost their last 11 meetings with Atlético and hasn’t scored in the past five encounters, the last goal coming from Budimir on May 16, 2021.
Simeone emphasized the importance of maintaining clean sheets, stating, “Keeping a clean sheet gives you a chance to win, it’s something we look for in every match. Let’s see if we can maintain it (Sunday), we’ve been competing well in the last few games. I’m imagining a match similar to our recent ones.”
For the season’s final home game at Metropolitano, Simeone will make changes to the defense as Josema Giménez and Axel Witsel are suspended due to yellow card accumulation. This may see Gabriel Paulista return to action for the first time since March 9 against Cádiz, and Stefan Savić is expected to make his final home appearance for Los Rojiblancos. Simeone has been testing lineups with Samuel Lino and Rodrigo Riquelme on the left, one of whom will replace the injured Pablo Barrios. Up front, Antoine Griezmann and Ángel Correa are set to start, indicating that Álvaro Morata might no longer be in Simeone’s plans.