Atlético de Madrid travel to Mendizorroza for Saturday’s 16:15 LaLiga meeting with Deportivo Alavés carrying a recent record in Vitoria that has repeatedly interrupted their momentum. Diego Simeone has his full group at his disposal, though with restrictions, but the challenge is as much about a stadium as a selection list: Atlético have not won there for more than five years.
Their last success at Alavés came only through a Luis Suárez stoppage-time goal. Since then, Mendizorroza has provided little for the Madrid side and plenty of encouragement for the hosts. Atlético lost 1-0 in September 2021 and 2-0 in 2023, before drawing both of their most recent visits in 2025: first 0-0, then 1-1.
Those four matches have made the Basque ground one of the more awkward domestic stops for Simeone’s side. For Alavés, the sequence underlines how effectively they have been able to reduce a heavyweight opponent’s control and turn a difficult fixture into a repeatable contest.
There is also a link between the clubs in the Alavés dugout. Quique, now in charge of the Vitoria team, once had a transformative effect at Atlético. Former Atlético player Antonio López recalled that the coach’s arrival brought “a great deal of order” to the side and helped return the club to winning ways.
The eighth-round encounter therefore arrives with Atlético seeking not merely three points, but a break from a pattern that has followed them through four winless visits. At Mendizorroza, recent history suggests that even a side used to demanding European-level pressure will have to earn every moment of authority.
