Diego Simeone is hopeful Atletico Madrid’s “best player” Julian Alvarez will find his goalscoring touch against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday.

Atletico have struggled so far this season, winning just one of their five matches in LaLiga (D3 L1), as well as losing their Champions League opener 3-2 to Liverpool, a match in which Simeone was sent off.

Alvarez, meanwhile, has netted just one goal, which came in a 2-1 opening-day loss to Espanyol.

The Argentina forward, who enjoyed a stellar campaign last season following his move from Manchester City, was taken off in Atletico’s 1-1 draw with Mallorca last time out, with his replacement, Alexander Sorloth, sent off.

Atletico are enduring their worst-ever start to a league season under Simeone, and their worst overall since 2009-10, and things do not get easier with a big derby against Real Madrid to come after Rayo.

Simeone says his focus has not strayed past Wednesday’s match, though, as he aims to get the best out of Alvarez.

“I’m focused solely on the Rayo Vallecano match,” he said. “We’re facing a team that competes well, with a lot of pressure, a lot of energy, and I’m not thinking about anything else.

“As for Julian, I did what I understood the team needed [against Mallorca]. He’s the best player we have, and we need him.

“There’s no other option. We hope he can find the most important thing a striker can do, which is scoring goals, and that the team helps him achieve it, because that’s what he came for, and we need him at his best.”

Simeone has a good record against Rayo, winning 90% of his home matches against them in all competitions (P10 W9 D1). Only against Real Valladolid (100% – P7 W7) and Real Betis (92.3% – P12 W11 D1) does he have a better such record.

Atletico’s only win this season has come on home soil, against Villarreal in their last such match, and they are unbeaten in four league games.

Simeone is coming under pressure after a lacklustre start, but he is confident it is only a matter of time until better results start to come.

“I’m in a place where I’m passionate, excited, and I like to work,” he added.

“And I see in the players that we’re on the path to continuing to evolve. There are signs that we continue to grow and that we struggle in the final minutes.

“But the place I’m in is fantastic, one of work, of improvement, of being able to regain the feeling the team always had, and I have no doubt the players are ready for the work we’re trying to do. And when you see that, patience and work. There’s no other option; patience and work.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Atletico Madrid – Conor Gallagher

Gallagher, scorer of Atletico’s goal in the last match against Mallorca, has netted four goals in LaLiga, with three of those coming in the month of September.

Two of his goals came against Rayo in the 2024-25 season, as he scored home and away against them, including one in a 1-1 draw in September 2024.

Rayo Vallecano – Jorge de Frutos

De Frutos has been involved in four of Rayo’s last six goals in LaLiga (three goals, one assist).

He has directly contributed to two goals in four visits to Atletico in the competition (one goal and one assist), but both of those involvements came while he was a Levante player.

MATCH PREDICTION: ATLETICO MADRID WIN

Atletico have not lost any of their last 16 matches against Rayo in LaLiga (W13 D3), their longest unbeaten run against them in the competition.

However, Atleti have lost two of their last four LaLiga derbies (W1 D1), the same number of defeats as they had in their previous 25 matches against Madrilenian sides in the competition (W14 D9).

But Rayo do not often travel well to Atletico, having lost 10 of their last 11 away games against them in LaLiga (D1), dating back to August 1999 (2-0 win).

Inigo Perez’s side have failed to win any of their last four LaLiga games (D2 L2) and have lost their last two away games in the competition without scoring.

Atletico, meanwhile, have only picked up six points from their first five LaLiga games in 2025-26 (W1 D3 L1), their lowest tally at this stage of the competition since 2009-10 (three points, W0 D3 L2) under Abel Resino.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Atletico Madrid – 61%

Draw – 20.9%

Rayo Vallecano – 18.1%