Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco is tackled by Valencia's Javi Fuego. (Photo : Getty Images)
Top contender Atletico Madrid (20-4-4, 64 points) is scheduled to face reeling squad Deportivo La Coruna (6-7-15, 33 points) at the Vicente Calderon Stadium on March 12th, Saturday as the La Liga 2015-2016 season moves forward.
Atleti is coming off an impressive 3-1 win over middling squad Valencia CF at the Mestalla Stadium last Sunday for their sixth straight unbeaten match, as per SkySports.
French striker Antoine Griezmann drew first blood in the match with a long range strike at the 24th minute but Valencia's on loan Real Madrid winger Denis Cheryshev quickly equalized it four minutes later off an assist from teammate Guilherme Siqueira.
The game stayed level at 1-1 for quite some time until substitute striker Fernando Torres, who is on loan from AC Milan, netted a goal in his 300th appearance for Los Colchoneros at the 72nd.
Valencia tried to fight back late in the game, but defender Aderlan Santos was booked for a second yellow after fouling Torres and was sent off 10 minutes before the full time whistle.
Atleti winger Yannick Carrasco, substituting for Luciano Vietto at the 69th-minute mark, sealed the game with a goal at the 85th for Diego Simeone's men.
The win was the third straight for the other capital city squad as it maintained its four-point spread over its neighborhood rivals Real Madrid in the league table.
Meanwhile, Deportivo settled for a 3-3 draw with fellow struggling team Malaga CF at the Estadio Municipal de Riazor last Saturday, as reported by ESPN.
Malaga forward Charles scored the opening goal of the match at the 29th before Deportivo midfielder Celso Borges leveled the count two minutes before the first half ended to make it 1-1 at the break.
Los Boquerones took the lead again three minutes after the hour mark via a header from midfielder Ignacio Camacho, which was once again cancelled by Los Turcos through a goal from Argentine winger Fede Cartabia.
Víctor Sánchez's men finally got hold of the lead, 3-2, at the 80th when midfielder Lucas Perez netted a left-footed shot from the center box. However, defender teammate Alejandro Arribas had an own goal one minute before full time that helped Malaga come away with the tie.
The predicted result is another 3-1 victory for Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Oblak; Juanfran, Gimenez, Gomez, Luis; Fernandez, Kranevitter, Niguez; Koke, Vietto, Griezmann
Deportivo La Coruna starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Lux; Juanfran, Arribas, Navarro, Luisinho; Bergantinos, Mosquera, Borges; Fede, Lucas, Alberto
