Atletico Madrid vs Granada
Atletico Madrid will kick off their 2020/21 La Liga season over at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to host Granada this upcoming Sunday.
This will be Los Rojiblancos’ first taste of action in quite a long while, especially after being booted out by RB Leipzig in the quarterfinals during the previous UEFA Champions League tournament.
Diego Simeone’s men will face a streaky Granada club who have made big La Liga 2020 news recently similar to last season.
El Grana got off to a hot start in their 2020/21 campaign with back-to-back wins over Athletic Bilbao and Deportivo Alaves, which put themselves on top of the La Liga standings.
As shocking as it is, it’s fair to say that Diego Martinez’s men have yet to be tested this early in the season.
This will be their first away match of this term and SBOTOP football fans can definitely expect a cracker here.
Can Granada make it a three in a row this weekend? Or will Atletico Madrid give them a rude awakening instead?
Talking Points
Atletico Madrid featuring a new look
Barcelona are unloading several veterans lately, which leaves Luis Suarez the odd man out.
Fellow ex-Barca player Arturo Vidal already left Camp Nou to go to Inter Milan while Luis Suarez has been initially linked to a move to Juventus.
But as of the moment, it looks like the Uruguayan won’t be heading there after all considering the work needed to be done to get into the team at the first place.
Suarez needed to pass several requirements to complete the move to the 10-time Serie A champions, which includes a language test in which he cheated after thorough investigation.
With the transfer failing to push through, the Turin giants have turned their attention to getting Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid to support Cristiano Ronaldo up front.
In turn, Atleti secured the services of Luis Suarez to fill in the void left by Morata.
In the past few years, Atletico Madrid didn’t have an instinctive goal threat since Antoine Griezmann left, and they are optimistic that Suarez will be what the doctor ordered.
Despite approaching past his physical prime, Suarez still offers enough pace and quality to help Los Rojiblancos in scoring goals.
An attack that will have the likes of Luis Suarez, Diego Costa and a healthy Joao Felix should be a scary proposition for opposing defences.
Will Granada continue to exceed expectations?
El Grana’s return to the Spanish top-flight has been phenomenal as they finished at seventh last term while booking a Europa League spot for the first time in club history.
They now have the added pressure of balancing between La Liga and the Europa League, but Diego Martinez was one step ahead by adding reinforcements prior to this season.
Competition is high in the midfield given their latest acquisitions. They’ve added Kenedy, Alberto Soro, and Luis Milla to add depth to a core consisting of Yangel Herrera, Maxime Gonalons, and Yan Eteki.
This will be an area of strength for them which will make them very competitive in the long haul.
Meanwhile, they’ve retained Jesus Vallejo and Neyder Lozano while adding Kevin Rodrigues, and they will be partnered alongside Victor Diaz, Domingos Duarte, and German Sanchez at the back.
History
Atletico Madrid holds a significant advantage in the overall head-to-heads versus Granada. They have won 14 of their last 19 matches along with five draws.
In their last two games, Atleti controlled much of the possession at 60-per cent and 53-per cent. This will be a key statistic to look out for if you’re facing this team.
Granada have yet to win over Atletico Madrid in more than five years.
Betting Tip
Atletico Madrid vs Granada | Atletico Madrid Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 1.97 | |
September 27, 22:00 (GMT+8) |
Our updated La Liga 2020 odds are backing Atletico Madrid to win in this fixture.
They are priced at 1.52, while Granada are placed at 6.60 and chances for a draw are at 3.85 in the 1×2 market.
Although these two squads offer a ton of quality out front, their backbone remains at the defensive end. As shown in their two encounters last season, neither team scored more than two goals in both games.
Which is why Under 2.50 @ 1.75 is a good bet while Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.04 seems plausible too.
While El Grana have been riding the hot hand lately, Los Rojiblancos’ overall quality might be too much for them to handle.
Atletico Madrid are a tough team beat at home, so I am expecting them to come out as winners in this fixture.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH: | |||
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= €20 (Highly confident) | = €10 (CONFIDENT) | = €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post La Liga: Atleti Plan to Pull the Rug Under Granada appeared first on SBOTOP.