Simeone open to Martinez-Torres partnership

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has praised Fernando Torres’ start to the season, stating the Spaniard boosts his side’s attacking potency.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says he sees no reason why centre-forwards Fernando Torres and Jackson Martinez could not feature together in Saturday evening’s La Liga game at high-flying Eibar.

Barcelona head Real Madrid in the top two spots following the Blaugrana’s defeat of Atletico Madrid last time out and Los Blancos’ thrashing of Espanyol.

Scoring has been something of a difficulty for Fran Escriba’s side so far though, as they have scored just three goals in their opening four matches, less than half the amount this week’s opponents have netted. “Why not? They are compatible players”.

A 3-0 win at the Vicente Calderon in May 2010 and a 3-2 home victory in November of the following year stand out for the Coliseum Alfonso Perez outfit, but Atletico have not had too much trouble since.

However he should be fit for the derby against Real Madrid on October 4.

Eibar finished 18th in their first ever Primera Division campaign last term, but gained a reprieve from relegation after Elche were forced down for off-field reasons.

On the other side, after a hard run at the start of the new season, Getafe finally got off the mark with a 1-0 win over Malaga at the weekend, avoiding a fourth successive defeat, lifting them up to 14th in the table.

The Spain midfielder will definitely miss the Getafe game and Simeone added: “He’s such an important player for us”. There was an issue if this team was exhausted, and it doesn’t help this squad because Lionel Messi, Neymar and Javier Mascherano played friendlies in the United States this week. Atletico loanee Emiliano Velazquez who has been a staple in their defence is expected to keep his place against his parent club.