La Liga: Atletico Madrid Can’t Take Their One-Match Advantage for Granted

Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid

After sealing their passage to the Champions League Round of 16, it’s back to La Liga matters for Atletico Madrid since they’ll visit Athletic Bilbao at San Mames this Saturday.

Even if they’re currently trailing by seven points to surprise league leaders Girona, Atletico Madrid, with 34 points, have a golden opportunity to cut the gap.

Diego Simeone’s men have a game in hand, so if they take care of business against Los Leones, then there’s a chance that they’ll end up in as high as second place next week.

However, it’ll be much easier said than done because Athletic Bilbao are on a tear with their recent La Liga 2023 results, and Ernesto Valverde’s boys have no plans of letting up since a top four berth is within their grasp.

Talking Points

Is this sustainable for Athletic Bilbao?

Since losing 1-0 to Barcelona a few weeks ago, Athletic Bilbao have gone undefeated in their last eight games in all competitions (W5, D3). Granted that Girona were the only top-half team that they faced at the time, it is still a remarkable achievement for Los Leones.

Nine different players have scored for Athletic Bilbao during this period, and it’s the Williams brothers who, unsurprisingly, have the most, with Inaki scoring four goals and Nico notching three.

Atletico Madrid will do their best to slow them down on Saturday, but they may also have to take into account the likes of Gorka Guruzeta and Oihan Sancet since the two of them also have an eye for goal.

Los Leones are currently the fifth seed with 29 points, but they’re five points behind for a top four spot, and they will have to navigate through a tricky schedule where they’ll face two top 10 squads in their next three league matches.

Griezmann closing in on major club milestone

Antoine Griezmann has been on a renaissance period since returning to Atletico Madrid last year. Even if he doesn’t publicly admit it, he knows within himself that he never should’ve left them before for Barcelona.

The Frenchman is easily Los Rojiblancos’ best player because he leads them in scoring with 14 goals, and he also has two assists this term. But more importantly, Griezmann is a key reason why we’re seeing a different Atletico Madrid this campaign.

Atletico Madrid boast the third-best offence in La Liga with 32 goals scored, while only conceding 14 goals on the other side of the pitch for a healthy goal difference of +18.

Griezmann managed to score his 171^st Atletico Madrid goal in their 2-0 victory against Lazio earlier today, which means that he is now two goals shy from equaling Luis Aragones’ long-standing record for most goals for the club that he set in 1974 (173).

It is inevitable that Griezmann will break the record, and he may do so during their visit to San Mames on Saturday.

History

Atletico Madrid recorded a league double over Athletic Bilbao last season via two consecutive 1-0 results, which saw Antoine Griezmann score those two winning goals during the second half.

This means that Athletic Bilbao have lost their last two games against Atletico Madrid after having not lost any of their previous three against Madrid-based teams in La Liga (W2, D1).

Athletic Bilbao, though, have yet to suffer defeat in their last seven La Liga home matches (W5, D2), which is their longest undefeated streak at San Mames in the competition since a run of nine between January and May 2021 under Marcelino Garcia Toral (W3, D6).

Los Rojiblancos, meanwhile, have lost each of their last two La Liga away matches, and they are in danger of losing three straight such games for the first time since December 2021.

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP La Liga 2023 odds predict another close fight between Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid this weekend. The hosts were given the slight edge at 2.39 odds, while a win for the visitors is installed at 2.71, and the two of them sharing spoils is on offer at 3.17 in the 1X2 market.

Los Rojiblancos are uniquely qualified to put an end to Los Leones’ undefeated run, but they may have to do it in a low-scoring affair, making Under 2.75 at 2.21 or Total Goals 0-1 at 3.19 viable alternatives.

Furthermore, a Correct Score of 1-0 in favour of Atletico Madrid – the same exact result of their last two meetings – is being offered at 8.80, which is already considered a great payday.

 

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