Atletico Madrid s meeting with Celta Vigo on Thursday gives them less time to prepare for their derby with Real Madrid, with Diego Simeone looking to reduce player workloads in training.
Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-2 on Tuesday to move up to second in LaLiga and have five days to prepare for Sunday s clash with Los Colchoneros, the only team to beat them last season.
Atleti managed a 3-1 win over Los Blancos last September – which remains Madrid s most recent league loss – before dumping them out of the Copa del Rey in January.
The scheduling of Thursday s trip to Celta puts Simeone s men at something of a disadvantage to their rivals, causing them to keep a close eye on players conditioning.
We are trying to manage it in the best way possible, Simeone…