Atlético Madrid head coach Diego Simeone remains undecided on one pivotal position in his XI, ahead of the fast-approaching Madrid derby.
That’s according to Marca, who have this evening provided an insight into the current plans of the Argentine tactician.
Simeone, of course, will lead his side back into action on Thursday night, when Atlético face off with arch rivals Real Madrid, in the Last-16 of the Copa del Rey.
With the latter fresh off sealing glory in the Supercopa de España, and likely to be fatigued on the back of a long journey home from Saudi Arabia, Atléti could well fancy their chances of springing a surprise later this week, to send their neighbours packing from the cup.
For such a scenario to play out, though, boss Simeone will need to get not only his tactics, but his selection choices just right.
And, with 72 hours to go until kick-off at the Wanda Metropolitano, one headache still appears to be plaguing the Argentine.
This comes in the form of which central defensive partnership to depend upon in the derby.
During Monday’s training session, Simeone tested the following XI:
Oblak; Llorente, Savic, Witsel, Hermoso, Lino; Koke, De Paul, Saúl; Morata and Griezmann
Marca, though, point towards stopper Savić’s place in the team being up in the air. This comes with José María Giménez also pushing for a starting berth.
Alternatively, Atlético could opt to field both, in the process either dropping Axel Witsel to the bench, or pushing the Belgian into his more recognised role in the middle of the park.
A major call, and one which could prove to be pivotal in the outcome of Thursday’s clash…
Conor Laird | GSFN
