Thread: Atlético Madrid vs. Villarreal

José Francisco Molina's away debut. Diego Simeone's return to the Vicente Calderón (likewise for Molina). Two underachieving sides. Three vital points.

Atlético Madrid hosts Villarreal this morning(!) in jornada 19 of La Liga. It's not quite the season's halfway point, as the players' strike postponed the opening matchday. But both sides know what they are: decent at home, dreadful away. Something has to give for the Yellow Submarine to get a result.

Lineups:

Atlético Madrid (4-2-2-2): Courtois; Juanfran, Miranda, Godín, Filipe Luis; Tiago, Gabi; Arda, Diego; Adrián, Falcao.

Villarreal (4-2-3-1): D. López; Ángel, Gonzalo, Zapata, Oriol; Bruno, de Guzmán; Cani, Borja, H. Pérez; Nilmar.

The match begins at 6 a.m. Eastern Time and airs in the U.S. on ESPN Deportes and ESPN3. Let's see how we fare in our 2011-12 debut in the Asian time slot. Endavant Villarreal!