Champions League: Do You Believe in Lucky Omens?

Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

For any superstitious SBOBET followers, this could well be Borussia Dortmund’s year.

Certainly, whenever they have previously met Atletico Madrid in European competition they have go on to glorious triumphs.

Could lightning strike again in the Champions League?

Talking Points

Lucien Favre’s men are definitely a side in form.

The former Nice boss has guided his side four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, extending their advantage over dominant reigning champions Bayern Munich (and Borussia Monchengladbach) with a 1-0 victory at Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Hot on the heels of their 4-0 rout of Atletico Madrid at the Westfalenstadion – a result which proved one of the Champions League 2018 news stories so far – they are slowly showing signs of becoming a force to be reckoned with again, led by the guile of captain Marco Reus and the emergence of a young English starlet in Jadon Sancho.

Forty-two goals and 13 conceded so far this season make them one of the great entertainers in Europe and the Black and Yellows seemed to have rediscovered their mojo which has been missing since Jurgen Klopp worked wonders.

Favre is helping a young, creative and dynamic team look like they may fulfillFtheir potential after years of having to sell their best players, many of them to Bayern.

Reus is showing the consistency he displayed when he first broke through as a youngster in 2011-12 under the guidance of Favre at Monchengladbach. He has been Dortmund’s most important attacking outlet, assisted by the development of Sancho, the mercurial Danish winger Jacob Bruun Larsen and great American hope Christian Pulisic.

Upon reflection, Atletico and Dortmund have been two of the main clubs to have achieved against the odds in Europe against their bigger spending countrymen, as highlighted by Dortmund’s 1997 success and Atletico’s achievements in reaching the 2014 and 2016 finals (not to mention their domestic success against powerhouse opponents).

There remains a feeling that Atletico will still fall short both at home and aboard this term, a 1-1 draw at Leganes on Saturday added weight to that view.

Yet in many ways they are already a success just to keep hold of their more illustrious rival’s coattails.

Diego Simeone’s men may also have Koke back after he returned to training, although this game could come too soon for striker Diego Costa who is suffering some discomfort in his abductor muscles.

Both missed the Leganes match as did skipper Diego Godin who is suffering a bout of gastroenteritis.

The absence of any of those trio would affect the side.

It’s easy to forget that before their five-match winning run was so abruptly halted, Atletico had only lost twice in 17 European matches, while Dortmund had only won one in 11 before winning three in a row.

Amidst that backdrop, what happens this week really is close to call.

History

Until the rout in Dortmund’s favour just under a fortnight ago, these two clubs had not met for more than 20 years.

Dortmund may consider it a good omen as they met in the group stages of the 1996/7 campaign in which they were famously crowned European champions, surprisingly defeating then red-hot favourites Juventus in the final.

That season Atletico actually topped the group with Dortmund progressing in second place.

They won in Spain thanks to a Stefan Reuter goal – a match in which Simeone was booked!

Atletico won the tie in Germany, however, when Roberto and Milinko Pantic cancelled out Heiko Herrlich’s opener in a 2-1 triumph.

Their only previous competitive meeting came in the quarter-finals of the 1966 European Cup Winners Cup when Dortmund won 2-1 on aggregate en route to winning the competition final against Liverpool.

Betting Tip

	Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund	Asian Handicap Atletico Madrid -0.75 @ 2.04
	November 07, 04:00 (GMT+8)

Considering the one-sided scoreline in the first game, it is a surprise to see Atletico Madrid so overwhelming favourites with Champions League 2018 betting odds.

They are priced 1X2 @ 1.79 compared to Dortmund @ 4.50. There will certainly be many who opt for the 1X2 draw with odds of @ 3.50.

If you fancy Dortmund to repeat their success you can back them Asian Handicap +0.50 @ 2.16.

Over 2.50 goals @ 2.00 provides a safe bet as does total goal 2-3 @ 1.90.

The Double Chance Borussia Dortmund or draw @ 1.95 may appeal to backers of the Bundesliga leaders, while the far-out chance of Atletico gaining exact revenge with a correct score of 4-0 will pay out @ 42.00.

Stranger things have happened – but not very many!

A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH:
= €20 (Highly confident)	= €10 (CONFIDENT)	= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

 

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