Atletico Madrid host rivals Real Madrid in a derby on Sunday which could go a long way to deciding the fate of La Liga this season.
Diego Simeone's side, top on 58 points from 24 games, are three points ahead of Barcelona and Real, both on 53 points, having played a game more, second and third respectively.
The Rojiblancos have been shaky in recent weeks but kept their first clean sheet in nine games in last weekend’s win at Villarreal.
That triumph helped steady the ship for Atletico following struggles against Levante and, in the Champions League, Chelsea.
The performance, however, was still far below Atletico’s best and Villarreal were on top for much of the game.
"We will prepare (for the derby) with great enthusiasm, wanting to improve things," said Simeone.
"We will face a great rival but we have to recover well from this match, in which we have achieved a very important victory."
Atletico have failed to beat Real at home in La Liga in each of the last five seasons and were defeated 2-0 by Zinedine Zidane’s side in December.
That was an important victory for Los Blancos, who had been struggling, and despite several injury problems, reigning champions Real have been impressive ever since.
Their 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad on Monday was the first time they had failed to win in five matches across all competitions.
Zidane will hope striker Karim Benzema is fit to play, with the French forward still recovering from a groin problem.
The Real coach believes there will be twists and turns to come in the title race.
"All the teams are dropping points," Zidane said on Monday. "We know that we have to keep adding them and that is what we are going to try to do.
"I repeat myself a lot, but there is so much of this season left to play."
Even if Benzema is fit, he will likely still be missing Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos and a Dani Carvajal among others.
Kieran Trippier is poised to return for Atletico after a lengthy 10-game ban for gambling offences, while Yannick Carrasco is also expected to be fit to play.
Madrid-based newspaper Marca claim Simeone will leave record signing Joao Felix on the bench again despite his goal against Villarreal as a substitute, opting to pair Marcos Llorente with Luis Suarez upfront.
Atletico last won La Liga in 2014 and beating Real Madrid would give them a commanding lead on their rivals.
Meanwhile Barcelona visit Osasuna on Saturday, hoping to put more pressure on their rivals in Madrid ahead of the derby.
The Catalans beat Sevilla 3-0 on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey semi-final, progressing to the final 3-2 on aggregate, and confidence is high at Barcelona.
"I'm proud of how we have been playing in the last few weeks, our pressing without the ball ... it’s a mentality that we are improving," said Koeman.
Osasuna, 12th, have been in good form of late with three wins from their last four league games.
The weekend's other fixtures are Valencia v Villarreal, Real Valladolid v Getafe, Elche v Sevilla, Cadiz v Eibar, Huesca v Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad v Levante, Athletic Bilbao v Granada and Real Betis v Alaves.
