La Liga: Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid Preview, Odds, Prediction

Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid square of at San Mames on Sunday night, in a match that might be crucial for Atletico’s La Liga title ambitions. If they fail to defeat the nasty Basques, they will stay in the race for the silverware. However, if they fail to come back home with all three points, be sure that the Madridians are going to slip down in the standings. Bilbao is in the middle of the table, and is without a victory for a long time. Plus, they lost both Copa del Rey finals in the recent few weeks, which is a pretty demoralizing fact. The game should provide excitement, so take five minutes of your time to read our analysis of the same.

Preview

Athletic Bilbao (+320) sits 10th, with 38 points, 12 fewer than the place that leads to the international stage. On the other side, they are nine points above the relegation zone, but with a game in hand or even two compared to all other rivals.

What presents a problem for this unit is low productivity, as Athletic failed to score in four of the past five events, three straight. That is the main reason why this unit hasn’t won for eight in a row, posting five draws and three losses, all of them being in La Liga.

The efficiency of the matches played during that span was low, and just two ended with over 2.5 goals. On the other side, five saw both teams not to score.

Atletico Madrid (-110) is frustrating its fans with inconsistent performances in the crucial period of the year. In the previous 10 La Liga events, the Madridians won five times, posting three draws and two losses besides that. They would lose a solid advantage gained during the first part of the season.

Even though Simeone’s side won the previous two home games, improving the current morale, the fact that Atletico posted two losses and draws over the past four road trips makes their fans very nervous before Sunday’s clash.

In the last seven games this team played across all competitions, just one ended with both teams scoring, and just one went over 2.5 goals. But this is classic Atletico, something that we’ve been used to over the past few years.

Latest News

Nolaskoain and Zarraga won’t appear for the hosts.

Gimenez and Lemar are out for Atletico, while Luis Suarez’s condition remains questionable.

Head to Head Games

Atletico was better in the opening game played on March 10. The finals result of that event was 2-1 for the Madridians, who came back from being behind. Muniain netted for Bilbao, before Llorente and Suarez managed to flip the result.

Prediction

Atletico is the favorite, but we are not so sure about their victory. It is a realistic option, but still, we don’t want to risk anything. In our opinion, a much better solution is to bet on under 2.5 goals, as both sides play tough and defensive-minded football. The odds on that are -195, and even though the profits are not that high, this is a way better choice than something else.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals -195