La Liga: Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona Preview, Odds, Prediction

Atletico Madrid hosts Barcelona at Wanda Metropolitan this Saturday night. The big derby between two archenemies is the central game of the round, and carries a massive significance for both units. Real slipped against Villarreal, and Barca now has a chance to gain an edge in the standings. Meanwhile, if Atletico wins, they will keep at least a minimal chance for the title, making the race much more interesting. We don’t need to talk about the rivalry, which spices up the entire situation even more.

Preview

Atletico Madrid (+210) has four wins in a row, but three of those were in Copa del Rey, while when watching only the Primera, this crew has just one victory over the recent four clashes. It was the one against Elche, 2-0 at home just before the New Year on December 29.

The thing with this team is that they have oscillated a lot since the campaign began. When looking at the past 10 events at home throughout all the competitions, Atleticos has just four wins, four draws and two losses.

Diego Simeone’s unit didn’t suffer a defeat in the previous six contests at Wanda Metropolitan, but four of those events concluded with a draw. Also, four of the previous five events were with under 2.5 goals.

Barcelona (+130) survived a scare against Intercity, eliminating the rivals only following the extra time, 4-3, playing 3-3 during the regular 90 minutes. It was the third time in a row, that Barca allowed a goal.

Under Xavi’s leadership, Barcelona built a recognizable style of play, which isn’t like when he played, but it is far better than what we saw in Barca over the last few seasons. The team knows how to dictate the tempo on the field and is also very reliable in all the lines. Though, we need to say it again, not as they used to be.

Blaugrana is without a defeat for the past six events, posting five wins and a draw. In all but two of these matches, this crew netted at least twice. Xavi and the boys won on the recent four road trips, and three of them were with over 2.5 goals and both units netting.

Latest News

Hermoso won’t play for the hosts, due to his red card suspension.

On the other hand, Barca has two absences also because of red cards. The first player who is on the suspension list is Jordi Alba, and the second is Robert Lewandowski. The saga with his suspension lasted for some time, yet in the end, the governing bodies ruled that the Pole won’t play on Saturday night.

Head to Head Games

Both teams used the home-field edge last year, with Barca winning at home, 4-2, and Atletico at Wanda, 2-0. In the past five games, the record is two wins for Atletico, one for Barca and two draws. Also, we ned to mention that the last five contests at Wanda all ended with low efficiency, that is, under 2.5 scores.

Prediction

This will be a tight contest, and we do feel that there won’t be too many goals. Simeone is going to try not to lose at home following all the disappointing results this year, while on the other hand, Barca has the credit to settle with just one point following Real’s loss. That’s why we see under 2.5 scores here.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals -110