Real Madrid head to the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night with one foot firmly in the Champions League final.
Zinedine Zidane’s team produced a great performance in defeating their local rivals 3-0 in the first leg of this Champions League semi-final at the Santiago Bernabeu. Cristiano Ronaldo was once again the hero as he produced a fantastic hat-trick to help his team to victory.
Atletico Madrid, a team often famed for their defensive organisation, struggled to keep Real Madrid’s forwards at bay and conceded with only 10 minutes on the clock. This settled the home players and fans and in truth, Atletico struggled to get into the match.
The additional 2 goals scored by Ronaldo in the second half, did not flatter Real Madrid and they are in the driving seat heading to the Vicente Calderon for the second leg.
Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid
Champions League – Wednesday 10th May 2017 – 8:45pm
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Draw Best Odd of: 17/5 at Ladbrokes |
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Atletico Madrid
Real MadridAtletico Madrid Form
Diego Simeone’s team responded well to the defeat at Real Madrid by beating Eibar 1-0 in La Liga at the weekend.
Atletico Madrid have been strong at home this season, losing only 3 games in La Liga and remaining undefeated in the Champions League. They are undefeated in their last 10 games in Europe’s premier football competition and have lost only 1 of their previous 22 home matches in the tournament.
However, only 4 of those 22 games have seen a win which would be good enough for Atletico progress to the final this season and they came against much weaker opposition than Real Madrid.
Real Madrid Form
Zidane opted to rest several of his first team regulars on the weekend, despite winning the first leg comfortably. However, it did not stop them from recording an easy 4-0 win at relegated Granada and the result keeps them in pole position for the La Liga title this season.
Real Madrid are undefeated in their last 15 Champions League matches and have won their last 3 away games in the competition, including good victories at Napoli and Bayern Munich.
The last time Real Madrid lost in the Champions League by a scoreline which would see them eliminated this season was back in 2009. Los Blancos lost 4-0 at Liverpool and a repeat of this result is unlikely.
Team News: Real Madrid in Control of Semi-final Tie
Atletico Madrid are still without Juanfran, Sime Vrsaljko and Jose Gimenez. This means Lucas Hernandez will probably starting again at right-back, with Stefan Savic partnering Diego Godin in central defence.
Real Madrid also have a problem at right-back, with Daniel Carvajal out for the remainder of the season. Nacho and Danilo will compete for a start in the Spanish international’s absence. Gareth Bale and Pepe are both injured.
Top Betting Tips
Given the form of both teams and the way Real Madrid performed both in the first leg of this tie and in the La Liga fixture at Vicente Calderon, you must side with Zidane’s team to win this game. Real Madrid can be backed at 13/8 with Ladbrokes.
Atletico Madrid need to produce a performance of epic proportions if they are to qualify for the final. Simeone’s team must win the match 4-0 to go through before extra-time and that’s as unlikely to happen as the 80/1 with PaddyPower suggests.
Real Madrid have scored in every competitive match they have played this season and even if they were to lose this game, expect them to find the back of the net. You can get 7/2 with Ladbrokes for Atletico Madrid to win and both teams to score.
Cristiano Ronaldo was rested on the weekend with this match in mind. The Portuguese forward has scored 8 goals in his last 3 Champions League matches, including two hat-tricks. BetVictor offer 17/4 for Ronaldo to score the first goal of the game and he is 25/1 with William Hill to score a hat-trick.