La Liga: Sorloth Out to Haunt His Old Mates in El Madrigal

Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid

Villarreal are hoping to be where Atletico Madrid finished in the La Liga standings last season, which is within the top four for a spot in this year’s Champions League.

The Yellow Submarine played in Europe last season, but that won’t be the case this year after they finished eighth. It doesn’t help them either that one of their best players has moved on from them this summer.

Alexander Sorloth is now with Atletico Madrid, and he will try to show his former employers what they’re missing on Monday, when he will make his return at El Madrigal.

Los Rojiblancos finished fourth last season, and they’ll look to break the Real Madrid-Barcelona duopoly anew, so getting a road win in the opener is a great place to start.

 

Talking points

Villarreal need their summer signings to kick on

Villarreal’s 2024 summer window has seen more losses than additions, giving head coach Marcelino Garcia Toral much less to work with this year.

Some of the losses include Ben Brereton Diaz, Filip Jorgensen, Alberto Moreno, Manu Trigueros, Jorge Cuenca, Aissa Mandi, Bertrand Traore, and Alexander Sorloth.

In return, the Yellow Submarine had Willy Kambwala, Pape Gueye, Ayoze Perez, Sergi Cardona, and Nicolas Pepe as some of their key acquisitions so far.

Finding a reliable source of goals is the utmost priority for Villarreal. Although they’ve scored four goals in their four pre-season games, most of them came against Swiss Super League side Sion, and they’ve only won once during that stretch.

With Alexander Sorloth gone, Villarreal will need Ayoze Perez and Nicolas Pepe to kick on, while bigger things are expected from Alex Baena and Ilias Akhomach.

Baena, who recorded a team-high 17 assists last season, is emerging as one of the top young talents in the world today. The 23-year-old just won the Euros and the Olympic gold medal this summer for Spain.

The Yellow Submarine could use a couple of vintage performances from Gerard Moreno and Jose Luis Morales, who combined for 19 goals and eight assists in all competitions last term.

 

Atletico Madrid are much stronger up front

With Alvaro Morata heading to AC Milan, Alexander Sorloth will have big shoes to fill at Atletico Madrid, as he will compete for a spot in the starting XI.

Sorloth is in his prime years, and he is coming off his best season to date in 2023-24, finishing as the runner-up for the La Liga Golden Boot award with 23 league goals (only one behind Artem Dovbyk).

The Norwegian’s competition is going to be Julian Alvarez, who recorded 11 goals and nine assists in the Premier League last season, despite playing second fiddle behind Erling Haaland. Atleti can hope that Alvarez’s winning pedigree will rub off on them.

With two top strikers at his disposal, Los Rojiblancos should be able to create numerous La Liga 2024 highlights, unlike Villarreal.

 

History

Atletico Madrid completed a league double over Villarreal last term, winning 3-1 in November at the Civitas Metropolitano and 2-1 in April at El Madrigal.

If they win again on Monday, Atleti will have won three La Liga games in a row against the Yellow Submarine for only the second time in history after doing so in 2011 and 2012.

After a three-game winning streak between 2015 and 2018, Villarreal haven’t won at home in their last six matches against Atletico Madrid (D4, L2), conceding exactly two goals in each of the last four.

Villarreal have only won one La Liga season opener in their last nine (D5, L3), while Atletico Madrid have gone 14 consecutive years without a loss on the first matchday (W8, D6).

 

Betting Tip

The La Liga 2024 odds have Atletico Madrid winning away on Monday, but their edge over Villarreal isn’t as big as expected. Atletico Madrid are priced at 2.16, but Villarreal aren’t far behind at 2.99, and a draw is at 3.29 in the 1X2 market.

While Atletico Madrid have shown they’re capable of scoring a bunch of goals during pre-season, it is hard to envision Villarreal doing the same this weekend. Maybe a one-goal difference is enough for the visitors to put away the hosts.

So, other than our recommended bet above, SBOTOP bettors may also go for Under 3.00 at 1.72, Under 2.75 at 1.95, or even Total Goal 0-1 at 3.69. But if you feel that Atletico Madrid will score more, then Total Goal 2-3 at 2.03 and a Correct Score of 2-1 at 8.20 – the result of their previous meeting – sound like solid alternatives.

   

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