Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone backed "one of the best in the world" Antoine Griezmann to return to form, while he offered his support for Luis Suarez amid a lean spell.
Simeone's side sit fourth in LaLiga, four points clear of fifth-placed Real Betis and appear set to secure Champions League qualification.
However, the form of forward Griezmann and the out of favour Suarez has come under scrutiny in the absence of the injured Joao Felix.
Griezmann has just three LaLiga goals in 21 appearances this season, finding the net once every 448 minutes on average, and has not scored in his last eight league games.
But Simeone insists the France international needs just one strike to regain his confidence as Atletico prepare to visit Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
"Antoine is not converting goals in recent games, his performances have not been what he is accustomed to," Simeone told reporters at a pre-match news conference on Friday.
"He is one of the players with the most goals in the history of Atletico... He always works, he is always committed to the collective work of the team, I have no doubt that he will come out of this situation.
"It's Griezmann, one of the best in the world, what he needs is to find a goal, which will give him confidence. From that, we will see the Griezmann who we were used to in previous years."
Only Fernando Torres (102 in 281 games) has more goals than Griezmann for Atletico in LaLiga history, the latter scoring 97 times in his 201 appearances for the club.
Suarez's form has also been a concern for Simeone, with the Uruguay international limited to appearances from the bench and scoring just twice in his last seven league games (both against Alaves).
The former Liverpool and Barcelona talisman is still Atletico's joint-top scorer this season, his 11 LaLiga goals only matched by Angel Correa, and Simeone hopes Suarez will soon find his feet again.
"I have no doubt that Luis will always score goals, with his team-mates, when he plays, in the Uruguayan team... because he has the ability to score," Simeone added.
"Hopefully if he comes in from the start or comes on in the game, he will make his mark on them. It's what he wants, what he feels, and what he lives off."
Suarez has failed to score in his last five away games against Athletic in the Spanish top flight, having previously netted on his first two visits to San Mames in LaLiga – both in 2015 with Barcelona.
Whether Suarez can regain his confidence against Marcelino's side remains to be seen, but Simeone knows the Basque side will pose a tough task.
"Marcelino is a very good coach, he makes his teams play well and that makes them complex to face," he continued.
"Also, whenever we have faced him he has very good teams, which usually have very good footballers.
"This means that the matches are tight due to the characteristics of the team that Marcelino creates. I can't imagine a match that isn't tight."
Celtic 3-1 RB Leipzig: Kuhn double inspires Hoops to Champions League fightback
Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn scored twice as the Bhoys fought back to clinch an impressive 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Coming off a goalless draw at Atalanta on matchday three, Celtic recorded their second home win in the Champions League this season, moving up to 13th in the standings on seven points.
They had to do things the hard way, falling behind to Christoph Baumgartner's close-range header after a corner came off Cameron Carter-Vickers in the 23rd minute.
However, Kuhn levelled in the 35th minute with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box, then tapped into an open net for his brace shortly before half-time.
Benjamin Sesko and Baumgartner went close to equalising after the break but Celtic's birthday boy, 38-year-old goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, pulled off a couple of fine saves before Reo Hatate sealed victory with a close-range finish in the 72nd minute.
Leipzig's wait for a first point in the Champions League this campaign continues, with their chances of reaching the knockout stages fading after four defeats in as many games.
Data Debrief: Celtic flying high
Celtic may have been humiliated in a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on matchday two, but that was a mere blip in what has so far been an impressive European campaign.
Their total of seven points is already their most in a Champions League campaign since 2012-13, when they collected 10, while they last netted more goals (currently nine) in a Champions League/European Cup campaign in 1977-78 (13).
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz: Malen late show extends Champions League home record
Donyell Malen netted an 85th minute winner to hand Borussia Dortmund a narrow 1-0 victory over winless Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A dominant showing from Nuri Sahin's side made it three wins from four games so far in the competition, moving them up to fourth in the new 36-team league.
Dortmund started brightly at the Westfalenstadion but were unable to find a breakthrough, with Marcel Sabitzer, Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy going close.
They recorded 13 shots in the first half, their most in the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League match without scoring since Opta recorded this data (since 2003-04).
But Sturm Graz offered a threat on the break after the interval, with Jusuf Gazibegovic curling an effort narrowly wide before Mika Biereth missed a header from close range.
However, Dortmund left it late to seal the win as Malen pounced on Emanuel Aiwu's loose pass before being sent through by Guirassy, with the Dutchman rattling the ball beyond
Kjell Scherpen to seal another Champions League home win.
Data Debrief: Home comforts
While Sahin has come under fire for Dortmund's displays away from home, there is no arguing with his record at the Westfalenstadion.
He became the first Dortmund coach since the Bundesliga was founded to win each of his first seven home matches in charge (all competitions), while BVB are now unbeaten in 13 consecutive Champions League home games (W9 D4) - an extended club record.
Malen’s winner was timed at 84:56, Dortmund’s latest winning goal in a Champions League match since Kevin Groskreutz netted against Marseille in December 2013.
Lille 1-1 Juventus: French side's resistance broken after second-half penalty
Lille held firm to hold Juventus to a 1-1 draw at home on Tuesday in the Champions League, extending their unbeaten run to nine matches.
Jonathan David had fired the French club ahead in the first half, before Dusan Vlahovic scored a second-half penalty to level things up and leave both sides on seven points after four matches.
Things didn't start well for the home side, with Teun Koopmeiners thinking he had scored the opener for Juventus only for it to be disallowed for offside.
David put Lille ahead just three minutes later with their first chance of note in the match. The Canadian turned home to convert from a slick counter-attacking move.
Goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier had to be on form to keep the home side ahead before half-time, sensationally saving a Vlahovic half-volley 10 minutes before the break. Koopmeiners, meanwhile, had another effort chalked off in the 42nd minute.
Juventus upped the pressure in the second half, with Chevalier also upping things and pulling off two impressive saves in quick succession.
But ultimately, the Lille resistance was broken by a Vlahovic penalty on the hour after Francisco Conceicao had been fouled by Benjamin Andre.
The result leaves Juventus 10th and Lille 12th in the Champions League table.
Data debrief: Lille looking good for qualification
After drawing 1-1, Lille are unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions and three matches in the Champions League.
The French side had beaten Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in back-to-back European games.
They now have a seven-point buffer between themselves and the bottom eight in the league table.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
