La Liga preview and odds: Atletico Madrid vs. Sporting Gijon

Published on: 07/11/2015

La Liga preview and odds: Atletico Madrid vs. Sporting Gijon

November 08, 2015 17:15pm - Vicente Calderon

La Liga

With a four point deficit to the leaders, Atletico Madrid will want to avoid falling further behind when they welcome Sporting Gijon to the Vicente Calderon in La Liga on Sunday.

Atleti off the pace

Despite being unbeaten in their last four games, Atleti have fallen four points behind their powerhouse rivals in La Liga. A disappointing 1-1 draw in La Coruna last week saw Real Madrid and Barcelona double their points advantage after both sides won their respective games. Los Rojiblancos were also leapfrogged by Celta Vigo who picked up all three point in San Sebastian.

The frustration continued in midweek as Diego Simeones men made the long trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana in the Champions League, only to play out a goalless draw. Failure to win on Sunday could see the Madrid team drop out of the Champions League qualification places, although fifth-ranked Villarreal face a tough trip to the Camp Nou.

Los Colchoneros have been strong at home this season having only dropped points to the big two at the Vicente Calderon. In addition, they continue to be very tight at the back with just six goals recorded against them in the entire campaign - a total only bettered by their city rivals.

One defeat in four for Sporting

Sporting Gijon have lost just one of their last four matches in La Liga and are currently sat in 12th place in the table. A win against Malaga in their last outing ensured that they moved three points clear from the relegation places - a position that is by no means comfortable.

Defeat at the weekend could see them dragged back down towards the drop zone, while a win could lift them into the top ten, such is the level of congestion in the bottom half of the Primera Division table.

After a fairly poor start to the season, Abelardo`s young side have steadily improved and have been particularly successful on the road where they have picked up seven of their 12 points.

Team news

The home side have no fresh injury worries and Simeone will have the option to field his strongest XI. However, he may decide to make some changes following their long distance exploits in midweek.

For the visitors, Nacho Cases is back from suspension, however, defender Roberto Canella, Carlos Castro and Arnaldo Sanabria are all out injured.

Recent form (League)

Atletico Madrid: DWWDL

Sporting Gijon: WLDWL

Betting odds and tips

The Asturians have only ever recorded one victory over their opponents in a total of 18 competitive meetings with the Madrid side claiming 14 wins.

Los Rojiblancos have only dropped points at home to Real Madrid and Barcelona this term and should have enough quality to see off their mid-table guests.

Antoine Griezmann has been in fine form this season and has scored four time against teams from the lower half of the table this season. He can be backed to score the first goal at 13/5 with Bet365.

Published on: 07/11/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (07/11/2015 11:40:17) but are subject to change.