Atletico Madrid vs Real Betis
Atletico Madrid welcome Real Betis to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday in a game Diego Simeone’s side needs to win to keep its early season form intact.
Having played four games so far, Atletico are unbeaten this season and sit eighth in the La Liga table, with two games in hand on four of the teams above and a game in hand on the other three.
Last weekend was certainly a good one for Los Rojiblancos as they earned a 0-2 win away to Celta Vigo while both Barcelona and Real Madrid lost, and that sequence of results has pulled Atleti’s La Liga 2020 betting odds down to 5.50.
The visitors, managed by former Manchester City head coach Manuel Pellegrini, are currently a place and a point above Atleti having played six.
Real Betis had a superb start to the 2020/21 La Liga campaign with back-to-back wins but have since struggled to maintain that early momentum.
Talking Points
Atleti to bounce back from Bayern mauling
Los Rojiblancos have made a very solid start to the season, winning two matches and drawing two, but Diego Simeone’s side crashed back down to earth on Wednesday when they were soundly thumped 4-0 by FC Bayern in the Champions League.
It was a dreadful night for Simeone’s normally resolute back-four and one his players will hope to put behind them very quickly.
It wasn’t an easy result to see coming after Atleti had picked up eight points from their opening four La Liga games, conceding a single goal.
Summer signing Luis Suarez has settled well and he was on the mark for his third league goal of the season in the 0-2 victory away to Celta Vigo last week, while Atleti’s main rivals stumbled. The Uruguayan is likely to start up front alongside Joao Felix.
Simeone will expect a reaction to the Bayern game from his players when Betis come to town on Saturday, but he has a few injury worries to contend with.
Striker Diego Costa is out, while central defender Jose Gimenez is doubtful, but there should be returns for winger Angel Correa and midfield man Thomas Lemar.
Betis’ talented stars struggle for consistency
After such a good start to this campaign with back-to-back wins, Los Verdiblancos’ La Liga 2020 results have been rather less impressive since, though they have had a tough run of fixtures.
They were unlucky to lose 2-3 to Real Madrid when Sergio Ramos scored a late winner for Los Blancos after Betis had played the latter stages with 10 men, following the dismissal of Emerson.
Pellegrini has enough talent at his disposal in this Betis squad which is more than a match for most, but they aren’t consistently turning attractive football into points at the moment.
A well-earned 2-0 victory over Valencia was sandwiched by 3-0 losses to Getafe and then Real Sociedad, leaving them with three wins and three defeats so far.
The visitors have players who can certainly hurt a defence.
Sergio Canales and Cristian Tello were both on the score sheet against Valencia while Canales has also contributed two assists this season, as has right winger Joaquin.
All three are likely to start on Saturday, with former Liverpool target Nabil Fekir adding more creativity, but they will need to be at their best to breach a well-organised Atleti defence that has a point to prove.
History
Los Rojiblancos have had the better of the head-to-heads, winning 22 of the 47 meetings between these two sides in all competitions since 1994, while there have been 13 draws and 12 victories for Betis.
Los Verdiblancos have struggled to beat their opponents in Madrid – failing to win at the Wanda Metropolitano in the last eight encounters, which is a run stretching back to 2011.
Meanwhile, Atleti are unbeaten at home in 15 matches since losing at home to Real Madrid back in February.
Last season, Atleti won both encounters. They notched 2-1 in Andalusia and then Diego Costa scored the only goal to settle a bad-tempered match in Madrid in July, and that was enough to secure Los Rojiblancos’ top-four place and a ticket to the Champions League.
Betting Tip
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Atletico Madrid vs Real Betis | Atletico Madrid Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 1.81 |
| October 25, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
At SBOTOP odds of 1.55 to win, with the draw at 3.80 and Betis out at 5.41, Los Rojiblancos are clear favourites to win this clash.
After a strong start to the campaign and a European disaster to recover from, I think they will win here with a typically clinical display.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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