Villarreal Vs Atletico Madrid
Friday 6th December 2019 – 20:00 (kick-off)
Spanish La Liga
Pick: Both Teams to Score
Odds: 37/40
Bookmaker: BetVictor
Spanish La Liga Betting with 22Bet
(All betting odds displayed were correct as of 5th December 2019 at 00:20)
Preview: In Friday night’s offering from La Liga, Villarreal resume their search for an elusive win when they welcome an Atletico Madrid side wounded from a significant defeat last time out. Which of these beleaguered outfits, if either, will prevail at Estadio de le Ceramica?
Villarreal Vs Atletico Madrid Live Stats & Betting Odds
Villarreal Preview – Spritely attack one ray of light?
Precarious times at Villarreal (13th – W5 D3 L7, GF28 GA24), with the relatively inexperienced Javier Calleja coming under increasing pressure as head coach after a woeful set of results which has seen a talented group of players go the last five games in La Liga without winning (D1 L4). That is one point taken from the last fifteen available – a pitiful return for a club with lofty ambitions and one harbouring genuine aspirations of an imminent return to European competitions.
At this moment in time, however, the club are closer to dropping into the league below than it is qualifying for continental football. It is a sharp decline from what was a promising start to the term initially, when winning precisely half of their first ten matches prior to embarking on that aforementioned barren spell. The latest setback coming in Valencia; creating enough chances (xG: VAL 1.56 – 2.07 VIL) to warrant a positive result, The Yellow Submarine would nonetheless contrive to lose 2-1. An all too familiar demise.
Perhaps the most unfathomable of all recent outcomes was the 3-1 home loss to Celta Vigo, who had lost five on the bounce beforehand. That was a first of the season at their Estadio de la Ceramica (W3 D3 L1), making it all the more shocking. The good news will be the frequency with which scoring chances are still being created – their xGF average, of 2.1, is up there with the best in the league – but a porous defence, that has kept two clean sheets all season (15 matches), continues to make collecting points all the more challenging for Villarreal.
Atletico Madrid Preview – Defensive foundations creaking?
Their record against Barcelona in La Liga was awful. So it was of no real surprise when Lionel Messi condemned Atletico Madrid (6th – W6 D7 L2, GF16 GA10) to a second defeat in the league this season last weekend, in turn leaving them six points adrift of the leaders in sixth position. Not an insurmountable deficit by any stretch of the imagination, but does anyone genuinely expect them to make it up after already squandering points on nine separate occasions – as many as Barca and Real Madrid combined!
Last week was another opportunity for Diego Simeone and his battle-hardened team to lay down a marker in the title race. That it failed to materialise was nothing new. The Argentinian manager had already overseen a goalless home draw with Real Madrid, so it was no surprise when another half-hearted effort produced no goals once again, only on this occasion there was to be no consolation point either. It also halted a ten-match unbeaten league run (W3 D7).
On current form, we couldn’t necessarily be confident about them bouncing back. Three wins from the last twelve league fixtures (W3 D7 L2) is mid-table form, while away from home it is four consecutive draws since a 2-0 success at Mallorca in September. Cracks are even beginning to appear at the back, going the last five in La Liga without recording a clean sheet – which is almost unheard of for them under the staunch Simeone – though they would restrict all but one of seven hosts thus far to no more than a solitary goal.
Villarreal Vs Atletico Madrid Key Facts:
- Despite one La Liga win in the last five (D1 L4), Villarreal can take heart from a reasonable record as hosts, where they have lost one of seven so far (W3 D3 L1).
- A run of ten league games without losing came to end last time out for Atletico Madrid. Away from home it is a mere two wins all season (W2 D4 L1), and none in the previous four (D4).
- Atletico secured a first win over Villarreal for four years when winning 2-0 at home in 2018-19 – however, not since 2015 have they beaten their opponents away (D1 L3 since).
Betting Summary
A couple of talented teams possessing enough gifted individuals to win games, only neither has been doing enough of that lately. Villarreal (23/10 Bet365) come into this contest without a win in five (D1 L4) whilst having also lost for the first time at home all season in their latest said encounter, losing to a then-struggling Celta Vigo. Whereas Atletico Madrid (7/5 Betfair) need a positive response to last week’s home loss against Barcelona, but arrive with no win in four La Liga matches as the visiting side (D4). Draw (11/5 Betway) anyone?
There is a lot to like about the odds available on both teams scoring. Naturally Atletico could prove a stumbling block, with their rigid shape and propensity for clean sheets. The thing is those clean sheets have dried up recently, failing to record any in their last five league games, meanwhile all three recent away encounters would finish 1-1. Plus, Villarreal boast one of the best attacking processes in La Liga so will pose a threat throughout. The problem for the hosts has been keeping goals out at the other end.
