Madrid, Jan 3 (IANS): Atletico Madrid on Thursday continued its preparations ahead of its first game of 2019, a La Liga match against Sevilla.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone hinted that Argentine forward Angel Correa is most likely to accompany Frenchman Antoine Griezmann as center forward since he tried him out in that position for the second session in a row, reports Efe news.

Correa is expected to return to this position during Sunday's game at the expense of Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic after the Argentine forward played as winger during Atleti's 1-0 home win against Espanyol.

In defence, the Argentine coach also tried out Juanfran Torres in the right back position and Saul Ñiguez as left back, replacing Brazil's Filipe Luis and Frenchman Lucas Hernández, who have been recovering from their respective injuries.

Uruguay's Diego Godin and Stefan Savic of Montenegro are expected to start against Sevilla as central defenders, as per the training session.

Atletico Madrid holds the second spot in La Liga standings with 34 points, just three points adrift of leader Barcelona after 17 matches into the season.