Alright so first thing this morning I opened up my usual football gossip sites, right? Needed to see who was fit, who was nursing a knock, the usual pre-match scramble for Atletico. News looked messy as always. You know how it is with Simeone – he keeps things locked down tighter than a bank vault.
Started by grabbing my coffee and my beat-up old notepad. Always jot things down physically, feels easier to scratch stuff out when I change my mind every five minutes. Heard Oblak was good to go, which is a relief ’cause that guy’s basically a wall. Figured he’d be between the sticks, no brainer.
Then came the defenders. Pulled up the training photos from yesterday. Saw Savic, Witsel, and Hermoso looking sharp. Azpi was doing drills too. Got me thinking… maybe a back three? Simeone’s been flirting with it again recently. Wrote down:
- Savic
- Witsel
- Hermoso
Scribbled Azpilicueta next to Hermoso, crossed it out. Figured Nahuel Molina on the right wing-back slot felt solid, been playing a lot there. For the left, I debated hard. Riquelme? Nah, maybe Carrasco if he’s fit enough to start… heard he trained okay. Went with Carrasco, pencilled him in lightly.
Midfield time. This is always the head-scratcher. Koke, obviously. Captain’s armband, runs things. But who next to him? De Paul? Llorente? Barrios maybe? My gut said De Paul and Koke deepish, with Llorente pushed higher – they tried that combo against some weaker sides recently. Wrote down Koke and De Paul anchoring. Felt a bit risky. Where do I put Llorente, then? Flipped a coin mentally… stuck him wide right midfield. Might swap spots with Molina during the game, chaos ensues!
Up front. This felt… simple? Too simple? Griezmann, no doubt. Where though? Behind a striker? But Morata? Had this niggling doubt about Morata starting back-to-back games. He does sometimes fade. Thought hard about Depay getting the nod instead, but nah, Simeone usually sticks with Alvaro. So Griezmann kinda floating behind Morata. Feels right. Poor Antoine, running like crazy again probably.
So there I was, staring at this predicted XI on my notepad. Looked something like this:
- Oblak
- Molina – Savic – Witsel – Hermoso – Carrasco
- Llorente – De Paul – Koke
- Griezmann
- Morata
Sat back, frowned. “Looks okay,” I muttered to the cat sitting nearby, who seemed wholly uninterested. But the Villarreal game? Tough opponent. Their press is nasty. Does Simeone maybe drop Llorente deeper? Bring in Barrios for more muscle? Is Carrasco really 100%?
Took a picture of my scribbled notes – gotta keep receipts when you’re wrong later, right? Already second-guessing the Llorente position. Simeone could flip everything an hour before kickoff and my whole lineup goes down the drain. That’s the fun of it, honestly. Thinking about it makes me want to just scratch it all and start over… but nah, this feels plausible. For now. Probably dead wrong tomorrow!