Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid Betting Preview – La Liga 18th November 7.45pm
A bit of history will be created on the weekend as the action in the Spanish top flight returns. The first ever derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano will be contested. The two rivals sit level on points in their pursuit of league leaders Barcelona and so there are a massive three points up for grabs. Will Atletico be able to make the most of some drops in form that reigning Champions Real Madrid have shown, or will the visitors silence their critics with a positive result?
Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid Betting Tips
No side has managed to get the better of Atletico Madrid in the Spanish top flight this season, not even Barcelona. While they are struggling to make it out of the Champions League group stage, they are solid in La Liga. In their new home, they have gone W2 D2 L0 record from their four league games and they have drawn their last two there by a 1-1 scoreline.
Those draws were both against current top-five sides in Barcelona and Villarreal, so they aren’t bad points at all. The 1-1 option in the bet365 correct score market is a price of 11/2. Atletico are struggling for goals with sixteen in their eleven league matches this season which actually makes them the lowest scoring side in the current top eight of the Spanish top flight. It’s eight foals fewer than Real have managed.
Aside from league leaders Barcelona though, Atletico have the best defensive record in La Liga at the moment and they have collected six clean sheets in their last nine league games. That’s just what you would expect from Diego Simeone’s men. Both teams to score at bet365 for this Madrid derby is a 7/10 odds on price though. Angel Correa is Atletico’s top scorer this season on the domestic front and he is a 3/1 anytime goalscorer option with Antoine Griezmann way shorter at 21/10. Just to highlight how strong they are in defence, they have conceded only one opening goal this season in the league and have scored first in eight of their eleven games. They have not given up a first half goal at all this season at home and in fact, the two they have conceded at the Metropolitano have both been in the final fifteen minutes of matches. A half time draw at be365 is a good price of 6/5.
It hasn’t been a straight forward season for Real Madrid at all because they have shown some vulnerabilities, particularly in defence which has led them to a W7 D2 L2 record so far in the Spanish top flight. Throw in that recent defeat against Spurs in the Champions League and they haven’t been at their best. They won their opening four away games of the season before suffering a real shock defeat at Girona, who are enjoying their first ever season in the Spanish top flight. Real Madrid have gone W6 L2 in their last eight league games, not too shabby of course but while they’re starting to rack up the clean sheets at home, they have no clean sheets in their last four away games. But, regardless of that, Los Merengues have been leading at half time in all five of their league away games this season and they have averaged over two goals per game on the road. Still, they will know that they are getting a tough game here and under 2.5 goals at bet365 is a price of 5/6.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the bet365 first goalscorer favourite at 4/1 for the game and in four appearances against Atletico last season, Ronaldo netted six goals in total through two hat tricks. Remarkably he has only the one league goal so far this term. From the four meetings between Atletico and Real last season (two league, two Champions League) Real Madrid did end up on top with a W2 D1 L1 record from those four games and they put a resounding 3-0 win on the board in this corresponding fixture form last season. However, those are only two of three victories in total in their last fifteen games against Atletico in all competitions (D6 L5). In the last six league meetings only, Real Madrid have taken a W1 D2 L3 record against Atletico. Their only other game this season against a side currently in the top five saw them earn a 2-2 draw against Valencia.
Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid Betting Odds
Real Madrid 6/5, Atletico Madird 2/1, Draw 5/2
Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid Predictions
Draw: Real Madrid have not been at their best this season and Atletico will likely to a pretty good job of disrupting their set up. Atletico haven’t been perfect at home and can’t match the scoring power of their rivals, but they stick in there defensively as they shower in a 1-1 draw with Barcelona recently, and claim a point.
