La Liga preview and odds: Atletico Madrid vs Levante

Published on: 01/01/2016

La Liga preview and odds: Atletico Madrid vs Levante

January 02, 2016 19:30am - Esatdio Vincente Calderon

La Liga

Atletico Madrid will be aiming to keep pace with league leaders Barcelona on Saturday by overcoming struggling Levante at Esatdio Vincente Calderon in La Liga.

Atletico fighting hard in title race

After a disappointing defeat to Malaga before the Christmas break, Atletico Madrid bounced back with hard-fought 2-0 win away at Rayo Vallecano. Los Rojiblancos struggled to break down a resilient Rayo side but eventually made a breakthrough two minutes from time before adding a second in the final minute.

That win ensured that Diego Simeone`s men finished the year level on points with pace-setters Barcelona having played one more game. With the Catalan team playing earlier in the day, it could be another day of playing catch up for the challengers from Madrid.

Levante still bottom of the pile

Levante are currently propping up the Spanish first division table with a total of 11 points from 17 games played. Les Granotes are winless in five games having lost four and drawn the other. They now face a tricky trip to the capital to face the second-ranked team in the league.

The only slight positive for Rubi`s team is that they have been better away from home in recent weeks, having won one and drawn one of their last three road trips. In their last match, they fell 1-0 at home to an in-form Malaga side and prior to that they were beaten 2-0 in Bilbao by Athletic Club.

Team news

Atleti will continue to operate without the injured Tiago, who faces another two months on the side-lines.

Meanwhile, the visitors will have to cope without striker Víctor Casadesús until at least the middle of February.

Recent form (League)

Atleico Madrid: WLWWW

Levante: LLLDL

Betting odds and tips

Only Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid on their own patch in a league game in 2015, and only three sides have earned a league point at Vicente Calderon in the last 25 matches. In addition, Levante have only won one game away to the Madrid side in the last 11 attempts. The home win looks a dead cert on paper but the odds will be predictably poor.

Five out of six of Atletico Madrids last home wins have been by a single goal. You can back a winning margin of one goal at 11/4 with Bet365- By Neil Morris

Published on: 01/01/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (01/01/2016 15:10:53) but are subject to change.