Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla
Fourth hosts eleventh at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday afternoon when La Liga: Atletico vs Sevilla takes centre stage in the Primera Division.
After making a slow start Diego Simeone’s Atleti have climbed up the La Liga table, and 14 points from the last six games has lifted Los Rojiblancos up to within a win of second-placed Barcelona. The hosts come into the game on the back of an impressive 2-0 victory away to Real Betis while Matias Almeyda’s Sevilla lost 2-1 away to Real Sociedad.
Sevilla had a 4-1 Copa del Rey win away to Toledo on Tuesday to give some fringe players a run-out and get back to winning ways. But, with longer to prepare, I expect Atletico to be at full throttle when they host Los Nervionenses on Saturday…and the SBOTOP odds back me up.
Talking Points
Baena is proving his worth to Atleti
Los Rojiblancos spent healthily in the summer transfer window, which they needed to do to get ship shape for an assault on the El Clasico pair. Centre back David Hancko arrived from Feyenoord and forward Giacomo Raspadori signed from Scudetto winners Napoli. The biggest outlay was the 50m Euros needed to bring 24-year-old winger Alex Baena from Villarreal, where he had made his name as one of the best attacking players in Spain, as top assists maker in the league in 2013/24, with 14. And, after Giuliano Simeone had volleyed Atleti in front against Betis last week, with just three minutes on the clock, Baena took control of the game, pulling the strings in the front five and capping off a superb performance when he scored the second, beating a defender before smashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
Having collected three points in Seville, Atleti now set their sights on Real Betis’ local rivals and Baena can torment the visitors’ back line if he is at his vibrant best, while Julian Alvarez, with six goals and two assists from ten games, is in lethal form.
The win over Betis did come at a cost though as 22-year-old midfielder Pablo Barrios pulled up with a muscular problem and he looks set to be out for a few weeks. Former Chelsea man Conor Gallagher is likely to step in to the advanced midfield role, though Simeone may also consider a recall for the veteran Antoine Griezmann.
Sevilla trying to avoid a slide
Los Nervionenses sit relatively comfortably in 11th place and look in good shape to improve on last season’s 17th placed finish. But the gap to the bottom three is only four points and, after failing to pick up a point in their last two outings, the pressure is beginning to mount. And the fact that Sevilla’s losses came to Real Mallorca and Real Sociedad, each picking up only their second win of the campaign and up to 16th and 17th in the table, is cause for concern.
Before those two losses Sevilla beat Rayo Vallecano and pulled out the result of the season so far when they whacked Barcelona 4-1, as legendary Chile striker Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring and top scorer Isaac Romero was also on target.
Ex-Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj is also pushing for a start against Atleti while Swiss forward Ruben Vargas will lead the line. But Almeyda knows Sevilla will play much of this game on the back foot and Brazilian centre back Marcao, alongside Fabio Cardoso, will have his work cut out to keep Alvarez quiet while skipper Nemanja Gudelj, who scored Sevilla’s goal against Sociedad, will look to dominate the centre of the park. Sevilla’s big players need to be on their game to avoid racking up a third consecutive loss…but they face a huge task.
History
Of the last 53 encounters between these two sides Atleti have won 22 to Sevilla’s 17 and, at the Wanda Metropolitano, they have won 15 to Sevilla’s four. When the two teams met in December 2024 los Rojiblancos edged a seven-goal thriller as Griezmann helped himself to a brace.
With three wins, two draws and a single defeat Atleti have been in decent form of late, while Sevilla are blowing hot and cold with three wins and three losses.
Betting Tip
Fans of Barca and Los Blancos will be watching the Atletico vs Sevilla updates closely; but they are unlikely to enjoy what they see with Los Rojiblancos at odds of 1.29 to win, Sevilla at 10.00 and the draw is priced at 5.00.
Both these clubs have had an outlier of a result over the past couple of weeks. Atletico Madrid suffered a shock 4-0 hammering at the hands of Arsenal in the Champions League and Sevilla, of course, humbled Barcelona with their 4-1 win.
The Atletico vs Sevilla betting odds say a victory for the visitors would be another big surprise, and I just don’t see a strong enough case for it.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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