Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid Betting Tips

It would be classed as a slight upset given Atletico are marginal favourites in the betting but anyone who has seen Sevilla play at home in recent times knows not to bet against them on home soil. They have lost just one of their last 38 competitive games at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan and there is no reason to think that they are not going to be strong at home again this season. Odds of 5/6 for them to win this game with the security of your money back if it ends in a draw looks like a very solid bet.

Especially given Atletico struggled away from home last season and it was the main reason they didn’t get close to defending their title. They have won just 4 of 11 Primera Division away fixtures in 2015 and were held to a goalless draw on this ground in March.

They have spent big over the summer but didn’t really impress on the opening day as they laboured to a 1-0 win at home to newly promoted Las Palmas courtesy of a deflected strike from Antoine Griezmann. It may take a few weeks to get going in an attacking sense as the likes of Jackson Martinez try to settle into their way of playing. This could be a really difficult outing for Atletico and Diego Simeone would probably have preferred to wait a few weeks before facing such a tough game as Sevilla away.

Sevilla have also brought in quite a few players over the summer and one of their debutants Steven N’zonzi was sent off on his debut last weekend in the 0-0 draw at Malaga so will be suspended here. It wasn’t a particularly impressive performance from the Europa League winners and Unai Emery will have worked on plenty of things in training this week.

Excitement is high in Seville about the new football season with Betis back in the top flight and Sevilla in the Champions League and there will be a big passionate crowd at this game backing the hosts. Possession will be important here with temperatures at this time of year in Seville regularly exceeding 40 degrees centigrade and an 8:30pm kick-off local time is actually quite early as August matches here are often scheduled to 10:00pm or later starts to avoid the heat.

Sevilla are used to it though and despite a few comings and goings there are perhaps fewer doubts surrounding them than there are of Atletico who have a lot of new players to bed in. Kevin Gameiro is likely to lead the line again here for the hosts and he could be one of the stars of La Liga this year after netting 17 times in all competitions last season despite predominantly being a back-up to the now departed Carlos Bacca.

Both sides will need to improve on the opening day but with Sevilla so strong at home they could just edge this. Atletico will pose a a threat on the break though with their pace so could well find themselves on the scoresheet too against a Sevilla side that are always very positive at home but sometimes leave gaps at the back. Therefore backing a 2-1 Sevilla win at 9/1 is perhaps where the value lies in terms of a correct score bet in this game.