Fourth placed Atletico Madrid look to continue their unbeaten start to the La Liga season as they take on local rivals Real Madrid, who are above them in the table on goal difference. Atletico are unbeaten after eleven league games, but have dropped several points by drawing five times. If it wasn’t for those dropped points, they may be closer to table-toppers Barcelona. But, as it is, they are eight points off the top in fourth position. Their last league match was a 1-0 victory away at Deportivo. Despite their unbeaten record, they have failed to win in their last two at home with draws against Barcelona and Villarreal. That makes it two wins and two draws from four as hosts in the league this term. Recent League Form – WDWDDW.
Spanish La Liga – Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid – Saturday 18th November – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 23/10 at Ladbrokes |
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Atletico Madrid
Real MadridReal Madrid
Champions Real Madrid have already suffered two defeats this season, and sit eight points off the top of the table in third place. Their most recent away match was a 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Girona, who are playing in La Liga for the first season in their history. This ended a run of four consecutive away league victories. They will be hoping that defeat is just a blip though, as they bounced back to beat Las Palmas 3-0 to make it five wins from their last six. This local derby could prove to be a six-pointer at a relatively early stage of the season, because defeat would see them drop to fourth and allow the chasing pack to close the gap on them. Recent League Form – WLWWWW.
Head to Head
The most recent meeting between these Madrid rivals was played at Atletico in May this year. It was the second leg of Champions League Semi Final, which Atletico won 2-1. Despite this result, Real Madrid had won the first leg 3-0 a week before and advanced to the final of the competition. Looking back at the last ten meetings shows that these two sides are evenly matched. The results from the ten have been three Atletico victories, three Real wins, and four draws. Real have won just once in their last eight visits to Atletico. This follows a run of twelve victories in fourteen visits, including eight consecutive wins between January 2008 and February 2014.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Real Madrid are the betting favourites to pick up the victory here but it’s tough to predict an outcome. William Hill have the champions priced at 13/10, with Atletico at odds of 21/10, and the draw at 23/10. Atletico have the edge in recent years as the home side against their Madrid rivals and are unbeaten this season, so it’s difficult to predict they will lose. However, Real are the champions and have lost just once away from home this season. Therefore, a draw would seem the most likely outcome. Looking at other markets to find the best chance of making a profit is also difficult.
There are usually several goals in Real Madrid matches, but Atletico games have been low scoring affairs of late. This rules the over/under market out. Both teams have scored in just two of Atletico’s last six, and three of Real’s last six. Also both have netted in just two of the last seven meetings, so it’s difficult to pick yes or no in that market. So, we have selected a couple of decent looking bets we are not 100% confident of but feel are worth the risk.
One bet that does look decent is the highest scoring half. The second half has had more goals in two of Atletico’s last three matches, and three of Real’s last four. The second half to be the highest scoring half here is priced at 19/20. Another bet is Isco to score anytime, at odds of 14/5. Most people who bet on this market will wager on Ronaldo or Griezmann netting, but Isco has scored four in Real’s last five league matches and the odds on him doing so again are too good to ignore.
Top Betting Tip
To be honest, our top betting tip for this match would be to save your money. But, as we are here to provide actual betting tips, our top one is the second half to be the highest scoring half. This is priced at 19/20 at Coral and looks to give the best chance of making a profit.