Preview
The battle for this season’s La Liga winner remains intense and can still swing anybody’s way among the top four clubs on the log.
This match is going to be a major decider as the league leader Atletico Madrid goes toe to toe with third on the log- Barcelona who are jointly tied with Real Madrid on 74 points.
With just two points separating both sides, this match might end up in the favor of Atletico Madrid by extending the lead to five points. In the same vein, the match might swing in Barcelona’s favor by taking them 1 point above league leaders with just three more games left to play before the league is wrapped up.
Form Guide: Barcelona
Thanks to Lionel Messi’s brace, Barcelona will be going into this game with a slight victory over Valencia in their last La Liga outing. The Catalan giants struggled to win Valencia in a match that ended 3-2 with goals from Messi and Antoine Griezmann. However, that victory keeps their title hopes alive and it will help boost their morale as they go into this title-deciding fixture against Atletico Madrid this game week. Before the last match, Barcelona suffered an unexpected defeat against Granada on their home ground, making that a double victory for Granada against them as Granada equally won the first leg of that fixture.
Form Guide: Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid are having a season to remember in La Liga and is on the verge of winning their 11th league title. All they have to do is see through the rest of their games with ease and winning this fixture against Barcelona is one of the toughest they will encounter. With victories in their last two outings in the La Liga coming from matches against Elche and Eibar that ended 1-0 and 5-0 respectively, Atletico Madrid has the form required to stun Barcelona by conquering them in this title-deciding fixture.
How the match could go
Both teams are aware of what’s at stake in this match and as such, they will both go all out to claim a victory in this fixture. A loss to any of them doesn’t only take them a point behind each but will also take them a point behind Real Madrid if they should win their match against Sevilla. Real Madrid who just crashed out from the Uefa Champions League will have all their attention and energy focused on winning the La Liga and that spells trouble for both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid if any of them should drop points in this match.
Tip: Double Chance
Considering all available options, a draw does not seem to favor any of the team as they will both fall behind Real Madrid on the league table if they should drop as little as 2 points and if Real Madrid goes on to win their fixture. This match is a “Go hard or go home” game for both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid and as such, they will both give all that’s within their reach to secure all three points available for pickup in this game. The safest bet option will be to go for either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid to win. Bet9ja has 1.31, Bet365 has 1.25, and 1xBet has 1.21.
Over 2.5 Goals
It can be dicey when choosing goal market for an Atletico Madrid game as they are known to be unpredictable when it comes to goal scoring. However, Barcelona with the help of Lionel Messi will be able to produce goals in this fixture. Provided Barcelona gets a goal or two in the first half, Atletico Madrid will strive to pull one or both goals back and this will leave them to be volatile to conceding more goals. Either way, this match is bound to have lots of goals in it. Bet9ja has 1.86, Bet365 has 1.90, and 1xBet has 1.95.
Both teams to score: Yes
Barcelona will look to quickly hit Atletico Madrid first because if Atletico gets the first goal, it will be hard for them to breakthrough Diego Simeone’s rock-solid defense. Getting an early goal for Barcelona will open up the game and Atletico Madrid will look to strike back. Considering that Barcelona’s defense isn’t all that strong as they tend to always concede goals in most of their matches, it won’t be too difficult for Atletico Madrid to find their net also. Bet9ja has 1.75, Bet365 has 1.80, and 1xBet has 1.90.
Anytime Goal-scorer (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi
Messi as always has proven himself to be a prolific goal scorer as he has scored 28 goals in the league this season, making him the highest goal scorer in the league. Three of those goals came from their last two matches against Granada and Valencia respectively. We believe he will continue with his goal-scoring prowess in this match against Atletico Madrid, especially when we consider how his goals scoring record against them. Lionel Messi has scored a total of 26 La Liga goals against Atletico Madrid in just 29 appearances. Bet9ja has 2.00, Bet365 has 1.80, and 1xBet has 1.75
Antoine Griezmann
Having scored four goals in his last five matches for Barcelona, Griezmann seems to have finally found a fine form. For a very long time, he has struggled to find his footing in Barcelona but recent matches tend to prove that he is ready to start hitting the net week in week out and we hope he exhibits this in this fixture against his former club- Atletico Madrid. Bet9ja has 2.85, Bet365 has 2.20, and 1xBet has 2.30.
Anytime Goal-scorer (Atletico Madrid)
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez has shown this season that his goal-scoring career is far from over after scoring a total of 19 goals in 30 appearances so far for Atletico Madrid. He will be facing Barcelona, his former club, and like every player, he will be looking out to proving a point against them. Bet9ja has 2.60, Bet365 has 2.75, and 1xBet has 2.70.
Marcos Llorente
The 26 years old player has been instrumental in pivoting Atletico Madrid to the top of the table and he also has some goals in him as he has scored 12 league goals for them this season. Chances are he will be able to score some more before the season wraps up and this game against Barcelona is a good opportunity for him to find the net. Bet9ja has 6.00, Bet365 has 5.0, and 1xBet has 5.50.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
