Tough run ahead: Atlético face six games in 21 days

Rubén Uría breaks down the fixture list awaiting Atlético after the international break: six games in three weeks, four of them away, starting with a first test at Mendizorroza that could either boost or sink morale.

Atlético's motto is 'game by game', but Rubén Uría has a warning for the fans: there is a tough run ahead. He goes through the fixture list date by date. First up, Deportivo Alavés in Vitoria this Saturday. Then the return of the Champions League, with Manchester United at the Metropolitano. Four days later, Espanyol in Barcelona with a 2pm kick-off, followed straight away by Stuttgart in Germany. After that, Deportivo de La Coruña at home and Levante at the Ciudad de Valencia.

In all, six games in 21 days. Uría insists it is a schedule that demands full attention and eyes wide open, because the house has to be built brick by brick. That process starts with getting something positive in Vitoria, ideally a win, which would lift the morale of a side returning from the international break.

He also points out that the big clubs always struggle in the first league game after a break: players have to switch mindset, and doubts and injuries creep in.