Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Best Bet: Betting Preview

The La Liga title race appears to be a three horse race, and our expert Nathan Joyes has provided his Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid best bets, team news, lineups and fixtures preview.

Barcelona slipped up for the second time in less than a month last weekend. First up, it was a shock 2-1 defeat against Las Palmas, and this time round Leganes secured a shock 1-0 win thanks to Sergio Gonzalez’s fourth minute strike.

Atletico Madrid have therefore been allowed to play catch up, and their narrow victory over Getafe saw them leapfrog Real and join Barcelona on 38 points – but with a game in hand.

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Best Bet 1: Simeone’s side to frustrate hosts

Spain, La Liga, Sunday, December 15th, 20:00 (UK)

Barcelona’s flawless start to the La Liga campaign has stalled in recent weeks, allowing both Real and Atletico Madrid to catch up. But with both Barcelona and Real dropping points last weekend, Diego Simeone’s team will have their tails up as they look to move into first place this coming weekend.

Even if they don’t, Atletico have a game in hand on both teams, which is making this La Liga title race perfect for the neutral.

So where is it going wrong for Barcelona at the moment? Two home defeats to Leganes and Las Palmas were not part of the script. The hosts dominated the statistics in both matches, but despite 47 shots across both of those, only 11 hit the target.

Against Las Palmas, Barcelona only created one big chance, and while they had 52 touches in the box against Leganes, they still only managed to create three major chances within the 90 minutes.

If teams towards the bottom can frustrate Barcelona, Atletico will be rubbing their hands together heading into their all important clash. That’s because Atletico have won their last five away matches across all competitions, conceding just twice – one of which came in the Copa Del Rey where Simeone changed his whole defence and goalkeeper.

In La Liga, Atletico have only conceded five goals in their eight away matches, having only lost 1-0 to Betis due to a Jose Gimenez own goal. As ever, Simeone’s side are incredibly hard to break down, but they’ve also shown to be stronger in the final third this season compared to the last.

The addition of Julian Alvarez has improved their front line, as the Argentine has scored five goals and provided two assists in 17 league games. Forward Alexander Sorloth has found his stride since his move from Villarreal, scoring seven goals in 17 matches – and let’s not forget Antoine Greizmann who also has seven league goals. The trio are deadly, and Barcelona will have to be wary of their individual threats.

Atletico also head into this fixture unbeaten in 11, winning all of those since that harsh 1-0 defeat to Betis. Barcelona may have won the last five head-to-heads, but there’s a huge amount of pressure on them right now, and with Atletico already taken points off Real this season, they couldn’t be playing Barca at a better time.

Simeone will be hoping his side can score first and if they can, it might just be another frustrating night for the hosts who struggle to come back from behind, especially against teams who are happy to sit deep and make it almost impossible for Barcelona to find a way through.

• Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Best Bet 1: Atletico Madrid +0.5 Asian Handicap
• Best Odds: 2.10
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stake: 6/10

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Best Bet odds via bet365 as at 17:00, December 10th, 2024. Odds may now differ.

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Injuries, Team News and Possible Lineups: Flick to rotate?

It will be interesting to see whether Hansi Flick chooses to stick or twist with his starting XI after another poor outing at home. The most obvious switch may be to bring in Ferran Torres who recently scored three matches in a row, including a brace against Dortmund in the Champions League. The Spaniard may be required to unlock Atletico’s stubborn defence.

Diego Simeone’s biggest decision will be whether to start Alexander Sorloth or not. The Norwegian forward came off the bench to score the winner against Getafe last weekend, but his Argentine head coach has preferred to use him off the bench to date.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Balde, Martinez, Cubarsi, Kounde, Olmo, Casado, Pedri, Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Galan, Lenglet, Gimenez, Llorente, Lino, Barrios, de Paul, Simeone, Griezmann, Alvarez

Match Stats: Recent history favours Barcelona

• Barcelona have beaten Atletico Madrid in their last five meetings.
• However, Atletico come into this fixture having won their last 11 matches.
• Atletico Madrid have only lost one away match this season, which was down to an own goal (1-0 vs Betis).

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