Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are coming off impressive wins in the UEFA Champions League during the week, but have to quickly turn their attention to each other in La Liga.
They are both level on points (31) with Atleti occupying third spot by a superior goal difference and they meet at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Sunday evening.
The Spanish champions slipped up last weekend when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano. That result underlined a string of underwhelming performances including a 2-1 defeat at home to rivals Real Madrid.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid have been in excellent form, losing only one of their last five league games. They have a game in hand over the Blaugrana and would want to put some distance between the sides.
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Betting Tips
- Atletico Madrid to score first @ 13/10 with Betway
- Draw/Atletico Madrid @ 21/25 with Betway
- Clean sheet for Atletico Madrid @ 19/5 with Betway
All odds are courtesy of Betway, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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Clinical Atleti
Barcelona’s form has been in decline over recent weeks. To date, Xavi’s charges averaged 1.93 goals per game, which has decreased to 1.38 in the last eight matches. Of the 14 goals they’ve let in this term, nine have been scored in the first half equating to 64% of their total conceded.
The visitors have scored 13 goals on the road at a healthy average of 2.17 per game. Diego Simeone’s men enjoy the record of leading in three of their six fixtures away from home. It’s likely that they will score first considering the fact that Barca have conceded first in five of their 14 league games, including their last two.
- Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Tip 1: Atletico Madrid to score first @ 13/10 with Betway
Some joy in store for Atletico Madrid
Los Colchoneros have won four of their last five games and even though their last league performance was uninspiring, they’ve been largely better than Barcelona. Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata share seven goals between them in their last five league fixtures with the former netting a hattrick away at Celta.
For the Catalan club Joao Felix, Raphinha and Ferran Torres are the creative sparks but they haven’t lived up to expectations lately. Their expected points decreased from 2.21 all season to 1.88 in the last eight matches, making a case for the visitors to walk away with something on Sunday evening.
- Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Tip 2: Draw/Atletico Madrid @ 21/25 with Betway
A shut out for Atleti
The travelling team conceded an average of 0.92 goals all season, placing them second in the league’s defensive table. In their six away days this term, they have kept a clean sheet on four occasions.
It’s worrying that Barca struggled to break Rayo Vallecano down last week and had to rely on a late own-goal to rescue a point for them. Frontman Robert Lewandowski has found the back of the net seven times this season, but has struggled to find his usual goalscoring form.
- Barcelona vs Atletico Tip 3: Atletico Madrid clean sheet @ 19/5 with Betway