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ATLÉTICO-ESPANYOL

Simeone makes Atlético diagnosis: "We have three key players out injured..."

Atlético's coach faced the media ahead of tomorrow's visit from Espanyol. "We need to convince ourselves of our own capabilities", El Cholo said.

Update:

Atlético de Madrid coach Diego Simeone previewed tomorrow's visit from Espanyol and hopes that a lack of self belief won't hamper his team at the Wanda Metropolitano: "We need to convince ourselves of our own capabilities", he told reporters.

Is this Atleti capable of battling with Barcelona and Real Madrid to win LaLiga?

We still only take each game as it comes. Tomorrow we will be up against a rival who will be more motivated than usual as they have a new coach and for that reason it will be a complex game. We want to continue improving but we're not thinking any further ahead than tomorrow's game against Espanyol.

The other day you complained of a lacked of motivation...

Footballers are always motivated. Above all else out of respect for the club they play for but there are days when they are more alert than others and so it's down to the coach to work on their emotional state and kepp them motivated.

Simeone tight-lipped on team selection against Espanyol

Will you be making changes to the starting XI?

We always look for ways in which we can take the game forward. Depending on what the team needs, we will field the strongest side available.

Morata is bringing a spark to the team but the others don't seem to be participating as much...

That's your opinion and evaluation - which I respect.

Diego Costa in today's training session in Majadahonda.
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Diego Costa in today's training session in Majadahonda.Kiko HuescaEFE

Atlético missing injured stars

Why has the team been struggling?

It's complicated - we have three key players out injured - João Félix, Savic and Giménez. We have a large number of games to get through without them and once we have a fully fit squad we will be able to create more competition for places. We need to convince ourselves of our own capabilities and after that, gain some kind of consistency - that's what we're looking to do.