Elche vs Atletico de Madrid preview - Suarez: Let's take game to Atletico

Posted Friday, December 05, 2014 by PA

Elche defender Damian Suarez has told his team-mates they will have to fight fire with fire if they are to get anything out of Saturday's visit of reigning Primera Division champions Atletico Madrid.

Atletico make the trip to second-bottom Elche having won nine of their last 10 games in all competitions as they continue to flourish under Diego Simeone, who has transformed the Rojiblancos during his three years in charge.

Simeone has instilled a steeliness in Atletico which has reaped handsome dividends, with the club winning their first Primera Division title since 1996 last season as well as reaching the Champions League final.

Atletico have also lifted the Europa League and Copa del Rey under Simeone - already one of the most successful managers in the club's history - and Suarez knows just how hard it will be against the Argentinian's battle-hardened side this weekend.

And, if they are to try and claim a shock victory over capital club, Uruguayan full-back Suarez says his team will need at the very least to match their opponents in terms of determination and effort.

He told a press conference: "Their coach asks his team for a lot of aggression when they don't have the ball and we have to do the same to win the game. (A win) would be important for the fans and the team.

"We must be very alert and be even more intense than them."

Elche midfielder Mario Pasalic echoed those thoughts, saying: "They are the reigning league champions and Champions League finalists, but we're doing all right and we're playing at home in front of our fans, so we're going to try and get a good result.

"The key is for everyone to give the maximum, 100 per cent from everybody on the pitch."

Elche go into the match having enjoyed an upturn in form in recent weeks, losing just one of their last five league and cup matches since suffering five defeats in six outings.

They also made things tough for Atletico in each of last season's league fixtures, holding out for more than an hour in both games before slipping to 2-0 defeats.

Elche will now look to cause more problems for the champions, while hoping that Simeone's men have their eyes on bigger fish with a mouth-watering European trip to Juventus coming up on Tuesday.

Simeone insists that will not be the case, however, saying after their midweek Copa del Rey win over L'Hospitalet: "We're very respectful with football and we understand that the only way we have of competing is thinking about Elche."