Prediction, Odds & Betting Tips for Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid at La Liga
Prediction, Odds & Betting Tips for Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid at La Liga
Each time Barcelona and Atletico Madrid collide, we witness a fierce clash with lots of emotion and intensity. We are more than sure Sunday’s game won’t be any different because the stakes are very high for both teams. They already have a slight deficit behind Real Madrid and Girona, and whoever loses will be in an ever tougher situation, losing both points and confidence.
Barcelona
Barcelona had a lot of trouble against Rayo Vallecano on the road last weekend. Lejeune’s own goal in the 82nd minute saved Blaugrana from what looked like a certain defeat, handing them at least one point.
The Catalan club showed plenty of weaknesses, and even though they had more of a ball possession, they weren’t as effective. Lewandowski had his moments, but he, too, looked pretty flat and without proper support. It seems that Gavi’s absence has taken a toll, and now Xavi needs to find a way to solve this handicap.
What calms down Barcelona’s fans ahead of this game are excellent results at home. Since the start of the year, they have had only one defeat at the Olympic Stadium, which happened against Real Madrid. In the other eight games, Barca ended up on the winning side, often with a clean sheet.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid’s form these days is on the rise. After an unpleasant defeat against Las Palmas on the road, 2-1, we’ve seen Diego Simone’s team bouncing back pretty quickly, recording three wins in a row with ten goals scored during this stretch and only one allowed.
This isn’t Atlético from a few years ago, who liked to play low-efficient football. Only one game in the past ten saw fewer than three goals, and that was the most recent victory against Mallorca last weekend, 1-0.
Simeone decided to change his approach, and now we have a new Atletico, who likes to compete with its rivals and dictate its own pace and tempo, not to defend at all costs.
Barcelona: Pena; Cancelo, Araujo, Kounde, Balde; Gundogan, De Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Gimenez, Witsel, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Koke, Riquelme; Correa, Griezmann; Morata
* at the time of writing, these lineups were relevant
Barcelona was better than the Mattress Makers on both occasions last season. Both matchups have ended with the same result – Barca narrowly beating the rivals 1-0.
The hosts are experiencing plenty of problems, some of them caused by Gavi’s injury and others simply by certain limitations of this unit. Atletico generally looks better, but we still wouldn’t bet on the visitors’ triumph. The most reasonable pick for this matchup would be moderate efficiency, meaning two or three goals at most.
Our verdict: 2 or 3 goals