Celta Vigo v Atletico Madrid: Simeone´s men riding high after derby triumph

Atletico Madrid travel to Celta Vigo riding on the crest of a wave after hammering city rivals Real in La Liga.

Diego Simeone will have had little trouble keeping spirits high among his Atletico Madrid players ahead of Sunday’s trip to Celta Vigo.

Last Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of city rivals Real put the defending champions right back in the title race and gave them local bragging rights for the time being.

Goals from Tiago, Saul, Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic secured a dominant triumph at the Vicente Calderon as Atleti moved to within four points of top spot, which has been occupied by Real since November 1.

But Simeone would do well to heed a warning from Atleti’s triumph, as victories over their bitter rivals have often been followed by setbacks.

Indeed, Atleti’s last three wins over Real have come just before a fall.

A 1-0 Supercopa de Espana triumph in August preceded a goalless draw at Rayo Vallecano in the Liga season opener, September’s 2-1 league win at the Santiago Bernabeu came three days before a UEFA Champions League reverse at Olympiacos, and January’s 2-0 Copa del Rey success was followed by a defeat at Barcelona.

Celta have already frustrated Simeone this season, earning a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture courtesy of goals from Pablo Hernandez and Nolito.

That was one of many impressive results that Celta produced in a promising start to the campaign, but things took a turn for the worse at the most unlikely of points.

A 1-0 win at Barcelona, under the charge of former Celta coach Luis Enrique, left the Galicians sixth on November 1 with 19 points.

Since then, however, Eduardo Berizzo’s men have taken just six points from 12 matches, ending a 10-game winless run in the league with a 1-0 victory over Cordoba last month.

A 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad followed, with those two results helping to ease fears of being dragged into a relegation battle. Despite being in the top half, Celta are just six points above the bottom three.

Simeone will likely keep faith with the side that so soundly beat Real, while Berizzo will hope Nolito – who went over 12 weeks without a goal before netting the winner against Cordoba – can extend his scoring run to three consecutive matches.