Atletico Madrid vs Getafe
If anyone is going to wrestle the La Liga title off Barcelona this season, and it’s a big ‘if’, then Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid will probably have to be the one.
Atleti is five points behind the leaders with 18 games to play, so they can’t afford to drop many, if any points. Real Madrid is a further five points back and, while not entirely out of the hunt, they must hope the Catalans implode for them to have a realistic chance.
So a home game against Getafe is a must win game for los Rojiblancos, but it isn’t going to be easy. It may only be the visitors’ second season back in the top flight but they are in impressive shape. In two and a half seasons, head coach Jose Bordalas has taken Getafe from the Segunda Division to the top six of the Primera among La Liga’s elite, so we’ll be circumspect with our SBOBET tips for this one!
Talking points
Atletico needs to share the goals better
Diego Simeone’s team has built a strong reputation throughout Europe as being a side very difficult, sometimes impossible, to break down. But at the opposite end of the pitch they have relied heavily on the goals of Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman’s own form has been good, not spectacular, in scoring ¾nine so far¾but los Rojiblancos don’t have another player with more than two.
Defensive rock Diego Godin is one of a clutch of player on a pair, and that speaks volumes.
Simeone’s side struggled to beat Levante in their last home league game, relying on a second-half penalty from Griezmann to secure a 1-0 win and the boss is moving quickly to strengthen his forward line. A deal to bring Chelsea’s unsettled striker, Alvaro Morata, to Madrid is set to complete. While Gelson Martin could be heading the other way, with Premier League Newcastle United enquiring about the striker.
Atleti needs to find another gear to chase Barca down, and Morata could be the man to provide that. The leaders too have a tricky match this weekend, away to Girona in the Catalan derby. With an epic Champions League clash against Juventus looming, Simeone needs to balance the need for points with the fine tuning of his players. An injury to a key figure now would be disastrous.
Getafe is a team in fine form
Jose Bordalas’ side is on a great run, flying high in sixth. Getafe followed up a resounding 4-0 victory over fifth placed Alaves last weekend with a Copa del Rey win over Valencia. They have lost just once in 11 games and that a narrow 2-1 defeat to league leaders Barcelona.
Striker Jorge Molina followed up a brace against Alaves, including a 25 yard screamer, with the winner against Valencia. That’s one to pick up in the La Liga 2019 highlights when you get the chance. Molina now has eight for the season and as captain, is leading from the front.
Los Azulones are used to playing in front of four figure crowds at home but this weekend the Wanda Metropolitano will be packed to the rafters as Atleti attempts to burst Getafe’s balloon. Atleti may have the best defender in Godin, but Getafe has its own Uruguayan influence in defence with Damian Suarez and Leandro Cabrera in the back line for much of their successful run.
History
We can’t simply base our La Liga 2019 predictions on the head-to-heads. The Madrid giants have dominated the 32 games played since 2001, winning 20 and drawing eight, while Getafe has managed just four wins.
Indeed, Getafe hasn’t won any of the last six games against Atleti, losing five with a solitary draw back in 2017.
The hosts’ recent form provides little comfort to Bordalas’ men as they haven’t lost in 18 games, nor 15 at home.
While Griezmann, on nine, has one more goal than Getafe’s hit man Molina, the visitors do have other players regularly hitting the net, with Jaime Mata on six and Angel Rodriguez on five, and that could work in their favour.
Betting tip
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Atletico Madrid vs Getafe | First Half Over 0.75 @ 1.89 |
| January 26, 23:15 (GMT+8) |
Atleti is well fancied to win this one at odds of 1.57 with Getafe at 6.00 and the draw at 3.70
And a 1-0 home win is the hot tip and very short at 4.40, but it’s been 13 games since Getafe drew a blank, and I have a sneaky feeling they may breach the Atletico defence at some point.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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