Having been held to a goalless draw by Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, Atletico Madrid will be looking to get back to winning ways when they visit Valladolid in La Liga on Saturday. With league leader Barcelona not playing until Sunday, Atletico could go level on points with the current league champions, temporarily at least, against a Valladolid side that has won its last two games across all competitions.
- Valladolid has lost three of its last five league games.
- Atletico is unbeaten in its last 12 outings in La Liga.
- Atletico has won seven of the past 10 meetings between these two teams.
Valladolid vs Atletico Madrid Game Center
Valladolid have their work cut out
Valladolid made a slow start to the season before picking up a sequence of positive results, but their form has nosedived in recent weeks. They have lost three of their last five league encounters and lie in 12th place, while scoring at a rate of less than a goal a game. Against a side with a defence as organized as Atletico’s, finding a way through will be no mean feat.
Atletico, meanwhile, lies just three points off the top of the table and has lost just once in the league all season. Their form has been hampered by far too many draws, however, and if they are to maintain their title challenge, then coach Diego Simeone knows that some of these stalemates must be turned into victories.
Visiting Atletico comes into this game as the red-hot favorite to take all three points. You can back the away side to win at just -134 while Valladolid, despite home advantage, is out at +450 to do the same. A draw is priced in the middle at +240.
Atletico to record routine victory
Atletico has the best defensive record in the division, having conceded just 10 goals in the league, and while they are hardly knocking them in for fun at the other end, they should still see out this game with relative ease. While it is no easy feat trying to predict the exact scoreline of any football game, a comfortable 2-0 win for Atletico comes in at +550 and looks a safe bet given the form of both sides.
That in turn would allow you to back UNDER 2.5 goals in the game, which is priced short at -188, as well as a “No” to both teams scoring, which is also low at -175. Therefore, in an attempt to increase any potential earnings from this game, it may be an idea to consider combo betting, which offers multiple outcomes at higher odds.
For example, a combo bet of an Atletico win, coupled with a “No” to both teams scoring, is at the higher price of +140, while an away victory and UNDER 2.5 goals in the game is higher still, at +210. You may also bet on the total number of goals in the game, with UNDER two priced at +162, two or three dropping down to +100 and OVER three out at +400.
Could Atletico make a fast start?
While it is not exactly in their nature, against a side as goal-shy as Valladolid (scoring at 0.9 goals per game), we believe Atletico could well try to grab an early goal and then try to draw their opponents out. You can therefore back OVER 0.5 goals in the first 10 minutes at +450, with Atletico at +750 to be ahead by the end of that time period.
As noted above, we are also expecting Atletico to keep a clean sheet, and you can back the visitors to win to nil (without Valladolid scoring a goal) at a price of +140. In addition, the visitors are at +225 to score in both halves, and +400 to actually win both halves.
In terms of goalscorers, Nikola Kalinic was on the scoresheet for Atletico in the 3-0 win over Alaves and will be keen to continue his run. The Croatian is at +175 to score at any time, while you can back him to open the scoring at +450 – just as he did against Alaves.
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