Atletico aiming to bounce back

Posted Friday, February 07, 2014 by PA

Atletico Madrid have resolved to be "stronger than ever" against Almeria as they seek to bounce back from their cup defeat to Real Madrid in midweek.

The Rojiblancos slipped to a 3-0 defeat to Real in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final at the Bernabeu but return to Primera Division action on Saturday night determined to at least maintain their three-point advantage over their city rivals and Barcelona.

Defender Juanfran said after the Real defeat: "We must always look at the positive side of everything, especially the defeats, and we believe that the team will come out stronger than ever and we will win because we want to continue in the league as we are."

Filipe looks set to miss out again for Atletico with a hamstring problem, while striker David Villa is sidelined by a similar problem.

Almeria skipper Corona is under no illusions about the challenge facing his side.

"Atletico Madrid are currently the best team in the league - they have shown that by being the leader after 22 rounds of the championship," he said in quotes carried on Atletico's website.

Corona does not expect the Real cup tie to have a negative impact on Diego Simeone's side, adding: "Atletico Madrid has managed to combine its talents so far to participate in various competitions, as it has shown when playing in the Champions League, so we expect to face the very best Atletico Madrid side."

Meanwhile, Almeria have confirmed the loan signing of Thai striker Teerasil Dangdaha.

The 25-year-old will join the Andalusian club in the summer ahead of the 2014-15 campaign, after which they will have an option to purchase the player on a permanent basis.

Teerasil joins from Thai club Muangthong United, with whom he scored 16 league goals last season, earning him a trial at Atletico Madrid, before he agreed terms with Almeria.