Atletico de Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano - Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone to watch Rayo Vallecano clash from stands

Posted Friday, April 29, 2016 by PA

Diego Simeone must watch from the stands as Champions League semi-finalists Atletico Madrid bid to refocus on their Primera Division title bid this weekend.

The Atletico coach begins a three-match touchline ban as his title-chasing side host struggling Rayo Vallecano in a crucial fixture on Saturday.

Simeone was punished after an extra ball was thrown onto the pitch by a ball boy to disrupt play during last week's game against Malaga. Under regulations the incident fell under Simeone's responsibility.

The matter has been an extra distraction for Atletico in their three-way battle for the Primera Division crown and their bid to reach the Champions League final.

In terms of the latter, they took a big step forward by beating favourites Bayern Munich 1-0 in midweek with a goal from Saul Niguez at the Vicente Calderon. They now face a huge trip to Germany for next week's return - but they cannot afford to devote maximum attention to it yet.

Ahead of this weekend's La Liga fixtures, Atletico were trailing leaders Barcelona only by their head-to-head record with three games to go, while Real Madrid were just a point behind.

Even Saul, who reflected on "the most important" and "probably the most beautiful" goal of his career against Bayern, said priorities were now on Rayo's visit.

The 21-year-old, who had a loan spell with neighbours Rayo two seasons ago, said in AS: "The second leg is a very important game, but we also have to think about the next league match.

"We have to win. We are still fighting for the league so we have to give everything in the next game."

For Rayo, the match also has critical importance as they fight relegation. Los Franjirrojos are 16th but just three points above 19th-placed Getafe.

They showed their battling qualities as they took a 2-0 lead against Real Madrid last week before eventually going down 3-2.

Adri Embarba, who scored the opening goal in that game, told his club's website, www.rayovallecano.es: "We have to win the maximum possible points in the three remaining games.

"Surely Atleti will not take us lightly because we have already seen that we can stand up to any rival."