Preview: Marbella up for a fight as Atlético pursue 13th successive win

Atlético de Madrid kick off 2025 with weekend Copa del Rey action, as Los Rojiblancos head south to face third-tier Marbella FC on Saturday night.

Atlético Madrid ended 2024 on a 12-game winning streak and can equal its longest winning run under Diego Simeone with another victory against Marbella, in the sides’ first meeting since 2009. Atleti are set to take the field at La Rosaleda — Marbella’s home ground for this game — without defender Josema Giménez, but with the hope of reaching the last 16 of the cup for the fourth year in a row.

Located in southern Spain and situated on the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Marbella is one of Spain’s best-known tourist destinations and home to a growing football club that has replaced the defunct Club Atlético Marbella — which was owned by Jesús Gil, Atlético’s former owner and the father of current CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín. Marbella achieved promotion last season under 33-year-old head coach Fran Beltrán, and last summer it received investment from former Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro. This year’s team may sit 12th in its Primera Federación group, but at least one of its players is highly-motivated to eliminate Atlético on Saturday night.

“As the good Madridista that I am, I am very excited to eliminate Atlético,” Marbella’s 37-year-old winger José Callejón told Marca. “Let’s see if we can give them a battle.”

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Callejón, who spent the best years of his career at Napoli, joined Marbella in July and has scored five goals in 20 games for Los Blanquillos. He told Marca further that knocking out Atlético on Saturday would be “the last public service” of his career, and it would secure Marbella’s best-ever Copa del Rey run — the club has never progressed past the round of 32.

“It’s wonderful for a small team to play this kind of game against a giant,” Callejón said. “We have been lucky enough to face Atlético de Madrid, we have earned it, and now it is time to enjoy it.”

But Callejón’s ambition to send Atlético packing from the domestic cup will be challenged, as the visitors plan to name a strong 11 for their first game in two weeks. According to Diario AS, Simeone will not rotate much, beyond starting Juan Musso in goal for Jan Oblak; it is expected that Robin Le Normand will start next to Clément Lenglet, with Nahuel Molina and Javi Galán completing the four-man defense. Pablo Barrios, Conor Gallagher, and Rodrigo de Paul have been tested as the midfield trio in training, while in attack, Giuliano Simeone will join Julián Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann — who is possibly starting his final year in Madrid.

“Atlético are one of the best teams in the world,” Callejón said. “They have a great team. They lead LaLiga and they have risen quickly in the Champions League. They don’t have a bad player. They have 12 victories in a row. It is a difficult challenge, but we will be 100 percent focused on being able to do it.”

Date Jan. 4, 2025

Location La Rosaleda, Málaga, Andalucía

Kickoff time 9:30 p.m. CEST, 8:30 p.m. GMT, 3:30 p.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. PT

Available TV/streaming ESPN+ (United States), (Spain)