Atl. Madrid vs Valencia prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-09-14 19:00.
[p]Atlético Madrid spent the international break as one of five La Liga sides unbeaten after four rounds (W2, D2), but things haven’t been plain sailing for Diego Simeone’s men. The Mattress Makers, who spent heavily to replenish their squad over the summer, needed a stoppage-time goal to beat Athletic Club before the hiatus, while they also failed to beat newly-promoted Espanyol on matchday three (D 0-0).[/p]
[p]That draw came at the Civitas Metropolitano, a venue that has seen its fortress tag wane lately. Atleti have failed to win two of their last three home league matches (D1, L1) – as many slip-ups as in their previous 27 such outings (W25, D1, L1)! And with a UEFA Champions League clash with RB Leipzig on the horizon in midweek, Simeone will be keen to generate some momentum as they host Valencia.[/p]
[p]If recent history is anything to go by, this fixture should do the job as Los Ches have desperately struggled against these opponents of late. Valencia have failed to win any of their last 13 league visits to Atletico (D4, L9), their second-longest such run in the history of this H2H! Seven of those clashes came at the Metropolitano, with Valencia conceding multiple goals on five occasions (D1, L6).[/p]
[p]This is therefore a nightmare fixture for under-fire boss Rubén Baraja to prepare for as he looks to transform his side’s fortunes. Valencia are rooted to the foot of the La Liga table after a winless start to the campaign (D1, L3), and most worryingly, are without a win in their last 11 league outings – their worst such run since a streak of 12 games in the 2015/16 season that was largely overseen by Gary Neville![/p]
[p]Players to watch: Amongst Atleti’s embarrassment of riches, Ángel Correa – who scored the winner against Athletic Club – may go under the radar. That might not be the case here though, as only against Celta Vigo (six) has he scored more career goals than against Valencia (five), with four of those strikes coming in home matches. Now featuring further up the pitch, a goal from André Almeida could lead to success for Valencia as each of his last six scoring appearances at club level were in wins to nil for his side – four of which came for Los Ches.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Atlético have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three La Liga matches – they’ve not managed four successive league shutouts since December 2020.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ryan Fisher[/i][/p]