Getafe vs Atletico de Madrid preview - Plaza primed for improvement

Getafe coach Luis Garcia Plaza is hoping to find Atletico Madrid's soft spot as he looks to guide Getafe off the foot of the Primera Division.

Atletico go into Sunday's meeting in the Madrid suburbs having won their last two games, but that was after a run of seven matches without a victory.

"We need to win," said Plaza. "There is no other way. It is a weird time, and it will be a long fight.

"(Atletico) have been playing well and have reacted strongly. It was illogical that they could go for so long without a win. But I hope that on Sunday they will bite the dust again and fall back."

Getafe lost their last match 3-1 to Valencia, and Plaza admitted that result was fully deserved even as he tried to find positives.

"We can have no excuses and no nonsense," he said.

"A lot has happened in our games this season, but it is time to look to the future with optimism. We are looking to get a result.

"In Valencia we did not deserve to win. It was their day. We did not play at the level we wanted. We were soft in some areas. We must be strong, more aggressive."

Plaza's side will take on a Madrid team who have ended that winless run in some style, first beating Real Zaragoza 3-1 and then putting four past Udinese without reply in the Europa League in midweek.

And there has been more good news for coach Gregorio Manzano ahead of Sunday's game as Jose Antonio Reyes and Juanfran, who both missed the Udinese clash, have returned to training ahead of the match and could figure.

Captain Antonio Lopez could yet figure despite the club announcing that he will have knee surgery on Monday, hoping to use the international break to clear up a minor problem of excess fluid without missing significant action.