Marcos Llorente could start his 4th La Liga game in a row for the 1st time

Marcos Llorente could start his fourth LaLiga Santander game in a row for the first time since joining Atletico Madrid at Valencia on Friday.

If Diego Simeone goes with his expected formation, the former Real Madrid midfielder will reprise his role of providing additional defensive support for right-back Santiago Arias.

Llorente started against Leganes, where he was removed at half-time, and then completed 90 minutes against Real Madrid and Granada.

He also played in Atleti's unexpected Copa del Rey exit against Cultural Leonesa, which was an outing to forget for him and his side.

Llorente is really starting to look the part now, helped by the absence of Mexican midfielder Hector Herrera.

And his coach has publicly praised his energy in his deeper defensive role, which could be just the job for the upcoming Champions League Round of 16 encounter with Liverpool.

At Mestalla, Simeone could line up with Llorente alongside Koke, Saul and Thomas Partey in a midfield four.

They will sit behind an attack likely to be comprised of Vitolo and Angel Correa.

Alvaro Morata, however, continues his recovery from injury and has not yet joined the squad for training.