La Liga preview and odds: Atletico Madrid vs. Valencia

Published on: 24/10/2015

La Liga preview and odds: Atletico Madrid vs. Valencia

October 25, 2015 20:30pm - Vicente Calderon

La Liga

Atletico Madrid will be hoping that their title rivals slip up this weekend as they attempt to win all three points at home to a Valencia side that has improved after a slow start to the new campaign.

Atletico still in title hunt

Atletico Madrid have already faced three of the teams currently battling for supremacy in La Liga. But despite losses to Barcelona and Villarreal, and a draw against city rivals Real Madrid, they are still just two point adrift of top spot.

A 4-0 win in their midweek Champions League game against Astana would have given the team a boost after a string of inconsistent results in all competitions. Last weekend they overcame Real Sociedad by two goals to nil in San Sebastian thanks to a fourth goal of the campaign from Antoine Griezmann, and a debut strike from summer buy Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco.

Unsurprisingly, Atleti have been strong in defence this season having conceded just four goals in the eight games that they have played so far. Only Rafa Benitezs highly-organised Real Madrid team have conceded fewer goals this season.

Valencia starting to shine

Valencia were a revelation last season and defied many expectations by finishing fourth and earning a return to the Champions League. After such exploits, they could be forgiven for their slightly slow start to this campaign. However, things seen to be looking up for Nunos men.

A convincing 3-0 win against Malaga last week has propelled Los Che into eighth place in the table and within four points of those coveted Champions Leagues places. However, they now face their first big test of the season against one of the main title contenders.

Despite being strong in defence, Valencia have struggled in front of goal this season and their goal scoring prospects have been further hindered by the apparent rift between the Coach and Alvaro Negredo. Despite their lack of fire power, Nuno saw fit to drop Nergredo for the midweek Champions League clash with Gent, a game which they went on to win 2-1. With no hint of an imminent recall for the former Man City striker, the goal burden will be placed on youngster Paco Alcacer for this weekends game.

Team news

Vietto is still in recovery and is unlikely to feature for the home side however, Koke could return to the starting line-up after making an appearance against La Real last weekend.

Negredo is expected to be left out again for the visitors who have no major injury concerns going into this match.

Recent form (League)

Atletico Madrid: WDLWW

Valencia: WLWLD

Betting odds and tips

Despite the quality of the opposition, the bookies have the home side down as a banker for this game. The best price currently available for a home win is the 8/13 on offer from William Hill.

However, this game will not be a walkover for the home side and it should be a tight affair. The visitors problem will be scoring goals, so the home win can be boosted by backing Atleti to Win to Nil at 11/8 with Skybet.

Published on: 24/10/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (24/10/2015 13:02:32) but are subject to change.