Draw specialist Atletico to fall short again
Athletic Bilboa host Atletico Madrid in the Sunday lunch time kick-off in La Liga. Diego Simeone’s side are chasing a Champions League spot, but can they get past a streaky Bilbao side? Have a read of our preview here:
Streaky season leaves Bilbao on the outside looking in
It has been a weird campaign so far for Gaizka Garitano’s men. They have been on every kind of run you can imagine this season, in what can only be described as the streakiest form in La Liga.
They started the season with a run of six unbeaten including an opening day victory over Barcelona, but this gave way to a poor October which included three defeats and a loss to this weekend’s opponents at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Another good run followed as they went five unbeaten, winning four before yet another streak, this time of 10 consecutive matches without a win.
This included five straight draws and four defeats in a row before back-to-back wins against Villareal and Real Valladolid saw things improve prior to lockdown.
The lack of consistency has left Bilbao sat on 37 points, eight points behind Atletico in the Europa League spot. They can close the gap with a positive result on Sunday, but predicting anything from them this season is a tricky business.
Draw specialists Atletico falling behind
Only one side in La Liga has lost less matches Atletico this season, their city rivals Real have just three defeats to their name.
That means Atletico Madrid have lost less matches, four, than current league leaders Barcelona, five.
The problem is Diego Simeone’s side have drawn 12 games in La Liga this season, more than any other side.
It has left their European hopes in a precarious position and could mean they have to settle for a place in the Europa League.
Alvaro Morata is the side’s top scorer with eight in La Liga, while Angel Correa has five. As a team Atletico have scored only 31 goals in 27 games which would put them in mid-table.
Defensively they have been excellent, conceding just 21 times which is second only to, again, city rivals Real.
They come into this on the back of five unbeaten but three of those have been…you’ve guessed it, draws.
Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid betting tip
Athletic Bilbao are either about to go on a long unbeaten run or quite the opposite. They will provide a tough test for Atletico so we are backing double chance Athletico Bilbao to win or draw at odds of 1.57 with bet365.
