Atletico de Madrid vs Elche preview

Posted Thursday, April 17, 2014 by PA

Atletico Madrid are working to the time-honoured cliche of playing each game as it comes as they close in on a first Spanish title since 1996.

Diego Simeone's men have surprised everyone by maintaining their unrelenting pace throughout the course of the season and are now on the brink of breaking the Barcelona-Real Madrid cartel.

They head into Friday's clash at home to Elche three points clear of their city rivals and four ahead of Barca, knowing that a win will cement their position at the head of the table even more going into the weekend games.

Real do not play and Barca face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, meaning they could be close to the line come the end of the weekend.

Adrian is not willing to get too carried away, though.

"We're there and time is running out, it's only five matches and we are leading," he told his club's official website.

"We will try and keep going match by match and try to win the points and stay there."

Atleti know they can afford to lose one of their remaining games and still take the title, seeing as they would beat Real on a head-to-head record.

Defeat is not an option for Simeone's squad, though.

"This is what we always hoped for, to be able to compete in the league," Adrian added.

"We know it is very hard because of the level of our rivals but we have to carry on like this, knowing that all the matches left are finals.

"We will play (against Elche) as though it were a final and try and end the season well.

"Elche is not going to be easy. We know they have a lot at stake and it will be very complicated."

Adrian is correct to point out that Elche have issues of their own to resolve. They go into the game four points ahead of the drop zone and knowing a positive result would significantly boost their chances of staying up.

"Atletico play with a lot of intensity but we aren't going there to throw the game," coach Fran Escriba said.

"We'll go there with the aim of sticking together and working hard on the pitch. We also play with a lot of intensity, but they have more quality. We're going to try and prevent them from feeling comfortable on the pitch."

Escriba is a former Atletico coach, but will not be aiding their title push just yet.

"I have a lot of affection for that club and I wish them all of the luck in the world once this game is finished," he added.