Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 10y

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone anticipates tough Juventus test

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says his team will treat Wednesday's Champions League Group A game at home to Italian champions Juventus like a final -- as his side always do in every match.

Last season's finalists Atletico began their current European campaign by being surprisingly beaten 3-2 at Olympiakos, while Juventus picked up their first three points by beating Malmo 2-0.

With even a draw at the Estadio Vicente Calderon putting the Serie A champions in prime position to win the group, the Colchoneros coach said he would be sending his team out to win the game, while accepting they faced a difficult task given the strength of their opponents.

"It is a final, as is the next La Liga game against Valencia, and then the game against Espanyol," Simeone said.

"[Juventus] are among the opponents in whom it is most difficult to see weaknesses. They work hard, are good technically, and strong in attack and defence.

"I have a lot of respect, a lot of admiration for the work this team has done as a block over the years. That work is shown on the pitch, they are always competitive. So we will have to play a very good game to bring it to the place we want."

Max Allegri's side, who travel without injured playmaker Andrea Pirlo, are not a team built to sit back and look to hold out for a point, Simeone predicted.

"Juventus is not a counter-attacking team, they like to press high up the pitch, and [Fernando] Llorente and [Carlos] Tevez move very well in space," he said.

"They are not a team who sits back. Tevez is an extraordinary player, who performs better when he is closer to the goal. He is difficult to deal with, very dangerous. We want to not let him think, not let him receive the ball, not combine with his teammates."

The home side's biggest selection issue ahead of the game is regarding captain Gabi, who limped out of Saturday night's 4-0 La Liga win over Sevilla with a knock.

"We will see how he is after tomorrow's training," Simeone said.

"If he is fit to play he will play, if he is not 100 percent he will not. The alternatives are Mario [Suarez], Saul, Koke -- one of those three will play in his position if Gabi cannot play."

Summer 16 million-euro signing Jan Oblak, who conceded three times when given his Atletico debut at Olympiakos, will be on the bench for the game, Simeone confirmed.

"[Miguel Angel] Moya will play tomorrow," was the short answer to a question asking if he would rotate his goalkeepers between the Champions League and La Liga.

Simeone is expected to choose Mario Mandzukic as centre-forward, but would not say which of other attacking options Raul Garcia, Raul Jimenez, Antoine Griezmann or Alessio Cerci might also feature.

"All games are not the same," he said. "They have all played well depending on the game -- it could be Raul [Garcia], Jimenez, Griezmann, Cerci.

"We played with five [in midfield] the other day, the game with Almeria was different too. It depends on the characteristics we are looking for in each game."

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