Simeone insists Elche a tough test

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says his side are in for a tough time against Elche despite 20 points already separating the sides.

Atletico are flying in La Liga to be second on the table, just three points behind pace-setters Barcelona.

Simeone’s men have won 12 of their 14 league games this term, with only one loss to their name, to have 37 points with the season not even halfway done yet.

The capital outfit’s next assignment is on the road to 10th-placed Elche, who were only promoted to Spain’s premier division this season.

Elche have only managed four league victories so far in 2013-14 and Atletico have won five of seven away games already.

But despite all of that, Simeone insists the impending encounter will be challenging for his rampant side.

“It’s going to be hard for us,” he said.

“Elche are a good team with a coach who gets the best out of his players.

“It’s going to be a completely different match to Villarreal (a 1-1 draw on November 10) – I think it might be a bit tighter than that.

“They have a squad that can adapt to different styles of play, and are good in all sorts of different situations.”