Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have the chance to move clear at the top of La Liga when they welcome Elche on Saturday afternoon.
Atleti are top of the table on goal difference but their advantage in the coming weeks could grow, with Simeone’s side having three games in hand on some of their rivals.
While rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona have struggled on occasions this season, Atletico have quietly gone about their business under Simeone.
They have played three games less than Real Sociedad and two fewer than Real Madrid, yet all three are on 26 points.
They face Elche at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano this weekend and the visitors are expected to struggle on their trip to Madrid.
Atletico fell to a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid last weekend with Simeone admitting his team hadn’t been good enough as their long unbeaten streak against their city rivals went up in smoke.
Simeone’s men are expected to produce a response after that loss and are 4/7 to win to nil against an Elche side who have failed to win any of their last six La Liga matches.
Atletico have kept four clean sheets in their last five in the league while Elche have failed to score in their previous two league games.
Barca Ready to Build on Sociedad Success
Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona have endured a miserable few months, but they showed signs of progress when beating table-toppers Sociedad on Wednesday evening.
A 2-1 success moved them up to fifth in the league table, albeit they remain six points behind the leaders.
They face another problematic encounter on Saturday as they welcome Valencia to Camp Nou for a 15:15 kick-off.
Valencia are winless in their last five league outings since they shocked Real Madrid back in November. However, they have proven tough to beat in that period, losing just once.
Los Che have netted on eight occasions away from home in their last five matches in all competitions, but Barcelona should just have enough, and a home win with both teams to score is inviting at 5/4.
Real Must Trend With Caution
Real Madrid look to have got their season back on track after a few bumps in the road, but that is not to say that they can look past the trip to Eibar on Sunday evening.
Eleven points separate the two in the league table, but Eibar are unbeaten in their last six in all competitions.
Impressive results against Real Sociedad and Valencia have allowed them to move away from the relegation zone, but they are still only four points off the bottom.
Eibar may be picking up results, but they are still not scoring the amount of goals necessary to trouble Real Madrid.
They have failed to net in their last five at home, and an away win to nil is 29/20.
Forward Karim Benzema is also one to watch this weekend, having been involved in nine goals in ten matches against Eibar in La Liga. He has helped him to a brace in two of his last three meetings against Armeros in the competition and the Frenchman is 5/2 to score two or more in this weekend’s clash.
*All odds correct at time of writing
