Cholo's beautiful football rollercoaster - Atletico very much in the title race

A new Atletico Madrid can be seen this season, likable and nice to the eye. It is a pleasure to watch football players in red and white jerseys dancing on the field. No more Machiavellian approach of Diego Cholo Simeone "the end justifies the means", defensive strategy, and not knowing what to do in attack.

Cholo has opened a new ride in Primera Division, a proper rollercoaster. The Mattress Makers are serious contenders for the title. Real Madrid and Barcelona are still in the foreground, but Los Colchoneros are lurking in the shadows. The attacking tandem of Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann have been in elite football for a long time, but this season they may be in the form of a lifetime. The Frenchman came back to life after an unsuccessful adventure in Barcelona, while the Spanish international was in crisis for years, always on the verge of leaving or being loaned out.

This season, it has been a rhapsody of experienced attackers. Morata has six goals on his account, he hit the net in the last two games, while Griezmann also shines with seven goals, four in the last three games. With 25 goals, Simeone's team is the most effective with the Primera Division along with the league's surprise Girona, and only Real Madrid (8) conceded fewer goals, only one less.

Cholo's sister in action! It can only mean one thing - Simeone will sign a new deal at Metropolitano

After losing to Valencia in mid-September at the start of the La Liga campaign (0-3), Atlético have been undefeated in all competitions for a month and a half. Seven wins and two draws. In the championship of Spain, they recorded a streak of six victories, so now the league leaders and their town rivals Real Madrid escape by only three points, but Cholo's team has a match less.

In the Champions League, the Madridians are close to the round of 16 in competition with Celtic, Feyenoord and Lazio. Tonight (11.00 PM EAT) Atlético are facing the excellent Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a return to the elite who have won three of their previous four matches in the Spanish championship. So far, tonight's hosts sit carefree in the middle of the table. If they continue like this, they should not worry about survival.

The personnel situation in the ranks of the Madrid club is improving, above all in defense. For the duel in Las Palmas, the Argentinian expert cannot count on Memphis Depay, Thomas Lemar, Lino, Grbić, Vitolo and the Mozambique representative Mandava. In attack, Simeone has no dilemma - Morata and Griezmann will play. At the beginning of the season, Depay was often the starter, the long-term Atlético strategist experimented with the attackers, Correa also got a chance, but now the striking tandem is nailed down in the starting line-up.

As for the hosts, Sandri and Lemos are out of action, while striker Jonatan Vieira decided to say goodbye to football due to his wife's illness.

Las Palmas play hard at home. In five matches, the goal difference is 4-3. They had four matches without defeat at their Gran Canaria stadium, but two weeks ago they were defeated by Rayo Vallecano (0-1). Atlético won two away games, without conceding a goal against Osasuna and Celta. In five duels away from their Metropolitano, Atlético scored 12 goals and collected 10 points.

This will be a duel between two teams after five years, which is how long the Islanders' stay in the Segunda Division lasted. In the last match between these teams at the end of January 2018, Atlético won 3-0, and one of the goals was scored by Griezmann, who will be the main threat to the home team's goal tonight with most likely all 32,392 seats filled.

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 12

Friday

23:00: (5.70) Las Palmas (3.80) Atl.Madrid (1.63)

Saturday

16:00: (2.85) Osasuna (3.30) Girona (2.50)

18:15: (1.90) Betis (3.40) Mallorca (4.30)

20:30: (2.65) Celta (3.35) Sevilla (2.85)

23:00: (3.20) Sociedad (3.40) Barcelona (2.25)

Sunday

16:00: (1.80) Alaves (3.70) Almeria (5.00)

18:15: (1.62) Valencia (3.80) Granada (5.80)

20:30: (3.10) Villareal (3.50) Ath.Bilbao (2.40)

23:00: (1.30) Real Madrid (5.80) Rayo Vallecano (9.00)

Monday

23:00: (1.95) Getafe (3.30) Cadiz (4.20)

***odds are subject to change***