Atletico Madrid turned on the style against Valencia last weekend, and Diego Simeone must be delighted that his team looks like finding their best balance once again, between reliable defending and swashbuckling attack.In fact, while the saying "the best form of defence is attack" applies to many teams, Atleti showed against Los Che that they rotate it somewhat: They can attackby defending, aggressively and high up the field, looking to win back possession with enough midfielders around to then quickly bypass the opposition. With pace and a sure touch in attack and vision, acceleration and drive from midfield, an in-form Atletico Madrid is a tough machine to stop.And that's even before the defence itself is considered, a well-trained and diligent quartet that first demands that no ball passes through them, then asks questions later.The match on Friday to kick off Jornada 10 in La Liga actually pits thetwo meanest defences against each other; per WhoScored.com, Deportivo La Coruna concede an average of just 8.3 shots per game this season, with Atleti next on 10.2.With only a quarter of the season gone, however, it's important to note that Atletico have faced a disproportionate number of better-quality attacks alreadytheentire top six from last season, coming out of those five matches with two defeats, two wins and a draw.Depor midfielder Celso Borges believes the two teams are similar in their style and intensity, speaking toMarca ahead of the game (article in Spanish), leading to thoughts that the match could see a hurricane-like battle in the centre of the park as both seek to take control.Borges' team-mate Cani arrived at Riazor this summer having spent the latter portion of last season on loan at Atleti, so he is well placed to offer his opinions. He also toldMarca (in Spanish) that the intensity and aggression were frequently spoken about in the Madrid club, as well as that the strong players available to Diego Simeone meant they were a hugely impressive team.When pressed on a particular player who had impressed him, Cani singled out Angel Correa, who has made the breakthrough this term with Atleti but trained last year while Cani was at the club.The buzzwords surrounding Atletico's style continue to be the same: it's a focus on working hard off the ball and then showing quality at the decisive moments in possession. The standout performance by Yannick Carrasco last weekend is the ideal blend that Simeone is after, and the Spanish media has been effusive in its praise of the Belgian's impact, both in winning the ball and delivering end product.If he, along with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Koke or Jackson Martinez continues along those lines on Friday, even the current meanest defence in La Liga won't be able to hold back the Atletico juggernaut as it begins to gather pace.Date:Friday, October 30Time: 7:30 p.m. BST/3:30 p.m. ETVenue:Riazor, La CorunaTVInfo:Sky Sports 2 (UK), beIN Sports en Espanol (USA)LiveStream:Sky Go (UK), beIN Sports CONNECT (USA)The TeamsDeportivo have had a great start to the season, contrasting the struggles against relegation of last year with a start this time around that saw them lose only once in their opening eight matches. Even following a weekend 2-0 loss at Malaga, Depor remain in sixth place in the table, and with the likes of Levante and Las Palmas to play in November, they will be hopeful of keeping their lofty top-half status for some time yet.Victor Sanchez has managed to eke more creativity and clever build-up out of his players this season, with the likes of Cani and Fede Cartabia being added to Luis Alberto and Faycal Fajrall play a good support role at one time or another for the main strikers.Their most recent run includes a draw at Granada and a two-goal lead let slip at home to Athletic Bilbao, both games where they may feel they should have taken wins, but a points haul of 13 in nine games is a more than reasonable return for Depor.Atletico started the season well despite difficult fixtures, but defeats to Barcelona and Villarreal would have put doubts in the minds of some about their ability to really challenge for the title this season. In truth, it has just been a bedding-in process for new signings, and the 2-1 win over Valencia showed that Atleti retain the quality, as well as the aggression, to go out and dominate matches.Back-to-back wins have put Los Colchoneros up into third, two points off Real Madrid and Barcelona, and with a better-looking run of games ahead, they'll hope to now maintain consistency and clock up points with frequency.Team NewsDeportivo are struggling for goalkeepers; Fabricio is out indefinitely, and German Lux has played the last two games while injured according toMarca (in Spanish). Manu Fernandes, the third-choice, injured himself in the warm-up last time out.Manuel Pablo also sat out training during the week and left-back Luisinho has not featured in the last four games due to injury.As for Atleti, Simeone is expected to keep the same starting XI as played against Valencia at the weekend. The finest performance of the season was hailed by the boss as "one of the best games in recent memory," per Sport, andMarcareport(in Spanish) that he will keep the same XI as a result.Luciano Vietto is back in training but unlikely to take part just yet, but everyone else for Atleti is available for selection on the bench.Possible LineupsDepor (4-2-3-1): German Lux; Laure, Sidnei, Alberto Lopo, Fernando Navarro; Celso Borges, Pedro Mosquera; Luis Alberto, Fede Cartabia, Faycal Fajr; Lucas Perez.Atletico (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Juanfran, Josema Gimenez, Diego Godin, Filipe Luis; Koke, Gabi, Tiago, Yannick Carrasco; Antoine Griezmann, Jackson Martinez.Players to WatchDepor:Lucas PerezThe busy, bustling and energetic front man will keep Atleti's centre-backs extremely busy with his movement and closing down. He can link play well, likes to run in behind the defence as much as come short to receive possession and will often try to get shots away first-time once inside the boxit's really just his consistency in finishing that lets Lucas down at times.Even if chances don't fall his way, though, he can still impact the game enough to create spaces for others to be a threat in the final third for Depor.Atletico: Yannick CarrascoA first goal at the Vicente Calderon last weekend was just reward for Yannick Carrasco's excellent all-round performance. His attacking traits were all on showdribbling, pace, willingness to shootbut so was his work rate and his capacity to challenge quickly for the ball.Carrasco can play either side but was clearly far more effective cutting in off the left, where he can narrow the pitch to link with the other attackers or else drive toward goal himself.A run of games for the Belgian should only serve to improve both his confidence and his effectiveness, making a big difference to Atleti's attack as an outlet on the counter but also an instigator of their press much higher upfield.Prediction: Depor 1-2 AtleticoFollow @karlmatchett
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