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Prediction: Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal

Veselin Trajkovic in Free Soccer Predictions 22 Feb 2020

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Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 8/11

Bookmaker: bet365

The 2020/21 season is proving very interesting when the Spanish top flight is concerned. At the moment it seems that Real Madrid and Barcelona will run the title race right to the very end, but the battle for the remaining places in the Champions League, as well as those leading to the Europa Leauge, is perhaps even more unpredictable.

In a game likely to have a huge impact on it, Atletico Madrid will welcome Villarreal to the Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Sunday evening in the final match of the 25th round.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico’s season hasn’t been going too well, and yet, it could hardly be described as bad. After 24 matchdays, they sit in fourth place in the La Liga table with 40 points to their name, two behind the surprise of the season – Getafe, the same as fifth-place Sevilla, two more than Villarreal and Valencia in sixth and seventh, and just three more than Real Sociedad in eighth.

Their Copa del Rey adventure this term ended in a disappointing fashion. They were knocked out in the round of 32 by Segunda Division B side Cultural Leonesa.

The Rojiblancos’ recent form has been rather patchy. In their last five league games, they won only once (1-0 at home against Granada), drew twice (0-0 at home against Leganes and 2-2 away to Valencia), and lost twice (2-0 away to Eibar, 1-0 away to Real). On the other hand, they managed to shut away European champions Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash, taking a 1-0 lead to the rematch at Anfield next month.

Known for his strong defensive approach, Diego Simeone and his team have often struggled to score, especially in the last month or two when they had a lot of injury problems with attacking players.

Team News

Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata were among the players injured, but both strikers have now recovered and are ready to play. Only Joao Felix remains out, along with defender Kieran Trippier. Centre-back Jose Gimenez is also back after an injury layoff.

Villarreal

As has already been said, Villarreal occupy the sixth place, only two points behind Atletico, and they are very much in the race for one of the two remaining top-four places behind Real and Barcelona.

Having finished as low as 14th last season, they missed out on European football altogether this term, and that may have helped them achieve this notable upturn in results and placement compared to the previous campaign.

Villarreal’s form has recently been somewhat more consistent than that of Atletico. They won three (1-2 away to Alaves, 3-1 at home against Osasuna and 2-1 at home against Levante) and drew one (1-1 away to Valladolid) of the four league games they’ve played since the 1-2 home defeat to Espanyol in mid-January. As for the Copa, they said goodbye to that competition for this season in the quarterfinals, where they were beaten by La Liga 2 side Mirandes.

Team News

Head coach Javier Calleja doesn’t have captain Bruno Soriano at his disposal due to injury, as is the case with fellow midfielder Manu Morlanes. Defender Alberto Moreno is also out.

Conclusion

Despite the current form notably tilting towards the visitors, it’s hard to imagine Simeone’s team lose this game in front of their supporters at the Wanda. But it’s perhaps even more difficult to imagine too many goals being scored at either end. It’s likely to be a dull affair, with neither team willing to risk too much. One goal might settle it, and it would be a huge surprise if there were more than two.

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 8/11

Bookmaker: bet365

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Veselin Trajkovic


Vesko is a football writer that likes to observe the game for what it is, focusing on teams, players and their roles, formations, tactics, rather than stats. He follows the English Premier League closely, Liverpool FC in particular. His articles have been published on seven different football blogs.

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