Atletico Madrid vs Valencia Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Atletico Madrid are now in a real battle for 4th place following another disappointing week where they’ve dropped 5 points. With Valencia looking much improved of late, this won’t be easy either and there is real potential for goals at both ends.

Diego Simeone’s men have long been considered the best defensive side in Spain but that is certainly not the case this term. Individual errors have cropped up with more regularity and they’ve not looked as solid collectively. With Diego Godin suspended and Juanfran most likely still out, they’ll probably be missing two of their first choice back four again here, which can only help the visitors. Atleti have conceded 0.92 goals per game at home this term, which may not sound a lot but it’s a big increase on the standard they’ve set in recent years.

At the other end they should have little trouble posing Valencia problems though. Antoine Griezmann has been in excellent form since the turn of the year and scored a brilliant goal in La Coruna on Thursday night. The Frenchman has scored in 9 of his last 15 appearances for Atleti and backing Griezmann to score anytime at 5/6 looks well worth a bet here.

Valencia have conceded 1.72 goals per game this term and have conceded in 84% of their matches. They’ve been a bit more solid in recent matches but mostly against significantly weaker teams than Atleti and their defence is prone to making silly errors. Going forward they’ve looked more lively since adding Fabian Orellana from Celta Vigo and Simone Zaza has given them a bit more presence up top so they should be able to pose one or two questions here.

Valencia often seem to slip up against the weaker sides but they’ve done quite well at times when the pressure has been off, against high-flying opponents. They’ve already beaten Real Madrid and Villarreal since the turn of the year and with Atleti not at their best defensively, there should be a goal in this for them.

Both teams have scored in 72% of Valencia’s games this season in La Liga and you can back Both Teams to Score at 19/20 here.