Rostov vs Atletico Madrid Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Rostov’s first ever Champions League campaign isn’t going badly at all in their eyes. They managed to see off the threat of Anderlecht and Ajax in the qualifiers for the group stages, including an emphatic 4-1 victory over Dutch giants Ajax. Their first group game pitted them against Bayern Munich, which they predictably lost 5-0, but they managed to earn their first ever Champions League point when they drew 2-2 with PSV.

Not even they will dare hope that they can make it through this group though. Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid are the overwhelming favourites for qualification, and they face a tough task to beat PSV to 3rd place.

Like a lot of clubs who aren’t regulars in Europe, the midweek fixtures have taken their toll on their league form. They have only won two of their last seven games in all competitions, losing four times and leaving them 5th in the Russian Premier League after ten games.

Rostov do have a few players to watch out for though. Striker Dmitriy Poloz had netted seven goals so far this season, including four in the Champions League. However, they’re facing an Atletico Madrid defence who are incredibly well organised.

The visitors have conceded just two goals in their last nine outings, which includes matches against Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Valencia. They kept a clean sheet in their 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, following on from their 1-0 win over PSV, to leave them top of the pile in their Champions League group.

Atletico Madrid are known for their efficient brand of football thanks to Diego Simeone, and it’s one that has taken them to two Champions League finals in the last three seasons. Saturday proved that they can do it at the other end of the pitch as well as they hammered Granada 7-1. Yannick Carrasco proved his worth in this game by bagging a hat trick, whilst Antoine Griezmann added a goal to take his tally to six goals for the season. Angel Correa and Kevin Gameiro have three apiece as well. Considering the form he was in at the weekend I’d suggest backing Carrasco to Score Anytime at excellent odds of 9/4 if you’re looking for a goalscorer bet, especially since he also scored the only goal of the game in their 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.

Rostov have failed to score in three of their last seven games, which is a bad omen considering they are coming up against arguably the best defensive unit in the world. As mentioned before, Atletico Madrid have kept a clean sheet in seven of their ten competitive games this season and have only conceded three goals all season. I think odds of 4/5 for Atletico Madrid to Win to Nil are incredibly good value considering these stats, and I’m going for a 2-0 correct score prediction at 4/1 as well.