La Liga: Are You Looking Up or Down?

Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol

We have another huge match coming up at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday when title-chasing Atletico Madrid welcomes Espanyol.

It’s a big game for both teams, but each set of fans will be approaching it with diametrically opposite emotions— optimism and fear.

Contrasting form has left these two teams with rather different pre-Christmas wishes. The Madrid giants are chasing that elusive La Liga title, hot on the heels of Barcelona, while Espanyol want to put the breaks on a freefall down the league.

After starting the season in such impressive form, lifting Rubi’s Catalans to second in the league after 12 matches, a run of defeats has dropped Espanyol to the bottom half of the table. Now, fans are starting to look downwards, and defeat on Saturday seems highly likely.

For Atletico, it will be another vital step in a brighter challenge.

Talking Points

Kalinic can strengthen his claim for a starting place.

The SBOBET football has long admired Atletico Madrid for its defensive capabilities. Led by the brilliant Diego Godin, the Atleti rearguard has been the toughest in Europe for years. While up front, the undoubted talent of Antoine Griezmann has been enough to grab those frequent one-goal wins.

The addition of Diego Costa has made Diego Simeone’s attack more potent, but injury to the former Chelsea man has opened the door for a lesser light. Striker Nikola Kalinic has responded well to his chance presented by Costa’s injury and scored the opener in Atleti’s 3-2 win over Real Valladolid. And that’s back-to-back goals for the Croatia international who scored 27 in 69 for Fiorentina, no mean feat in Serie A.

He didn’t score in his first seven La Liga games, but confidence in goal scorers is the vital ingredient and Kalinic is beginning to look a real handful for defences.

Simeone has a job to keep his stars happy. There is the perennial speculation around the future of Griezmann which the World Cup winner rarely does much to dampen. And now Atletico are facing a struggle to keep hold of Griezmann’s France teammate Lucas Hernandez.

FC Bayern are reportedly ready to pay the £70 million release clause in the defender’s contract, something that would weaken Atleti’s fabled backline.

Maybe the promise of a Champions League run could keep Simeone’s big names happy. The Champions League last-16 draw gave Atleti the tie of the round against Juventus, and a chance for Griezmann to measure himself—once again—against the Bianconeri’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

That will be a battle of two of the best defences in world football, providing a real test for these two exceptional strikers.

Espanyol are looking forward to upset La Liga 2018 betting tips and celebrate victory against Atletico Madrid — Borja Iglesias is Espanyol’s biggest threat with eight goals

Can Borja Iglesias breach the Atleti defensive wall?

Espanyol have no such excitement ahead and desperately needs some Christmas spirit, after a wretched run of form.

A 0-4 home defeat to Barcelona in the Catalan derby was a serious blow to Espanyol’s self-esteem, but that’s not the worst of it. Rubi’s team has lost to Girona, Real Betis and Getafe by a disheartening 3-0 scoreline.

The task of breaking down Atleti’s defensive wall rests largely on the shoulders of Borja Iglesias. He has scored eight goals so far, seven of them in the last 12 games. Of course, Atleti have only conceded 12 all season, so Iglesias may get the freedom of Catalonia if he can do the business on Saturday!

History

The form table could hardly be different. While the visitors have lost four on the bounce, Atletico have lost just one in 16 league games—unbeaten in 13 and unbeaten in 12 home matches.

The head-to-heads have been somewhat closer though, with Atletico ahead by 19 victories to 16 in all fixtures since 1995. And Espanyol did an incredible double over their opponents last year, including a 2-0 win at the Wanda Metropolitano.

And you could argue they have the more lethal striker, Iglesias’ tally of eight is two more than Griezmann’s!

So where does all that leave us with our La Liga 2018 betting tips?

Betting Tip

	Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol	Atletico Madrid Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 2.08
	December 22, 23:15 (GMT+8)

Well, there’s only one answer to that, with apologies to Espanyol fans.

If Diego Simeone’s team wins this game and the La Liga 2018 results go with them this weekend, then they’ll go into the New Year on track to make an assault on the league leaders. And that will be incentive enough to see the hosts come through on Saturday.

The Catalans are on an alarming slide down the La Liga table to 11th, and I think Iglesias will be a lone figure in the opposition half as the visitors try to escape serious punishment.

There have only been 15 goals in the last 12 meetings, so there may only be a couple of goals. With that said, a 2-0 home win looks on the cards.