La Liga: Red-Hot Atleti Versus Points-Hungry Betis

Atletico Madrid vs Real Betis

The Civitas Metropolitano in Madrid welcomes back La Liga football on Sunday with a mouthwatering clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Betis.

Atleti come into the game on the back of a 3-0 win at home to Valencia, while Betis won 1-0 against Real Mallorca – results which strengthened both teams’ claim for a top four place.

Diego Simeone’s Atleti are currently third in the table, six points clear of Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis and they are the form team in Spain.

But their visitors aren’t in bad shape either and, with the incentive of catching Real Sociedad in fourth, Los Verdiblancos will go hard in Madrid.

Talking Points

Griezmann is better than ever

While Barcelona seem to be running away with the league, Los Rojiblancos are chasing down Real Madrid in second. And with the best set of La Liga 2023 resultsover the past few weeks, they have climbed to within five points of their city rivals.

Simeone is known for his pragmatic style of football that’s hard to beat. But with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, and Angel Correa in his ranks, he has players who can open up any defence in Europe.

And it is Griezmann who has been as influential as any in Atleti’s recent upturn in form. The 32-year-old Frenchman was named La Liga Player of the Month for March after scoring two goals and making an assist.

Since his appearances were limited earlier in the campaign while he tried to get his contract sorted out, he has just got better and better.

Griezmann starred for France in Qatar in a deeper role, showing just what a versatile and gifted player he is and he is one of the best assisters in Europe with eight to his name this season to add to his nine goals.

He scored the opener in Atleti’s clash with Valencia just before the break, which made it 10 games unbeaten in La Liga for Los Rojiblancos.

And Simeone’s team is still as hard to break down as ever, conceding just four goals in that run.

Canales ban could hurt Betis

Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis are aiming to improve on their fifth place finish from last year and the very latest La Liga 2023 betting odds say they have a good chance.

But Los Verdiblancos have suffered a serious blow this week with the news that attacking midfielder Sergio Canales will be out for four games due to suspension following his outburst last month when he berated referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz who sent him off earlier in the campaign.

The 32-year-old star claimed that Lahoz sent him off “premeditatedly” and the allegation of officials cheating will never go down well with the league authorities. With another creative player, Nabil Fekir, sidelined for the season with injury, Pellegrini will not be amused by this latest development.

The frustrating thing is that fourth place is well within Betis’ reach. They sit three points behind Real Sociedad, who have been struggling for form recently, and are four clear of Villarreal in sixth.

Much of Betis play goes through Canales, and now they will try to break down Atleti’s defence by getting Ayoze Perez into the game as he might be the best bet to supply 12-goal Borja Iglesias with ammunition.

History

Los Rojiblancos have won exactly half of their meetings with Betis over the past three decades with 26 victories from 52 encounters, while there have been 14 draws and 12 wins for Los Verdiblancos.

But Atleti are ten unbeaten at home to Betis and have won five and drawn one of the last six meetings, winning the return at the Benito Villamarin 1-2 as Griezmann scored a double

The hosts have the upper hand in terms of recent form too with five wins and a draw from the last six games, while Betis have won two, drawn two, and lost two

Betting Tip

Atleti are at SBOTOP odds of 1.50 to win this game with Real Betis at 5.03, and the draw is at 3.88. A victory for Diego Simeone’s side will cement their place in the top three and maybe inch them closer to Real Madrid in second.

Los Verdiblancos need a win to break into the Champions League picture, and a defeat would be a setback after a good run of league results.

But aside from home advantage, two factors play in Atleti’s favour: Antoine Griezmann is in the form of his life, while Real Betis’ most influential player, Sergio Canales will sit this one out.

 

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