Eduardo coudet

Spanish La Liga: Atletico Madrid will play a derby against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday in the sixth round of the Spanish La Liga. The game is the first of two derbies for Atletico this week, and Diego Simeone's side needs to win both, otherwise this season's title could already slip out of reach before September ends.

Atletico's 1-1 draw in Mallorca left it nine points behind former champions Real Madrid, and with Real visiting Levante on Tuesday, that gap could stretch to 12 points before kickoff at the Metropolitano Stadium. With Atletico hosting Real on Saturday, anything other than two wins would leave Simeone's team with fading hopes of competing for the title.

Atletico striker Alexander Sorloth will miss Wednesday's game after his red card in Mallorca. At the same time, Simeone is also concerned about forward Julian Alvarez, who has not scored since the opening game of the season, reports Xinhua.