Nowadays, La Liga teams aren't necessarily judged on how well they do in league play, rather how well they do in Cup matches. If that's the case, Atletico Madrid is going to come into Sunday's league match against Barcelona with a head of steam and a lot of supporters from the betting public, knowing that these two teams had tremendously different starts to their Champions League series.
Don't miss the La Liga action from Vicente Calderon Stadium at 10:15 a.m. ET on Sunday, February 26, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on beIN Sports.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Atletico Madrid +215
Barcelona +134
Draw +238
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
There's such a tremendous clash of styles on display here in what is budding into one of Spain's most bitter rivalries. Atletico Madrid has consistently kept itself in front of the ball and generally just sends Antoine Griezmann forward when opportunities present themselves. Barcelona wants to push forward as much as it can with its three superstar strikers and would much prefer a wide open match.
That's why the total in this one feels like it's in the middle of nowhere at 2.5 with -127 vig on the under.
Barca, for all of their flaws in recent weeks, are still perceived to be the favorites in this one by a wide margin at +134 on the moneyline. Atletico Madrid isn't a dog at home to many teams, but Barcelona is going to be one of them.
The First Meetings
As is the case time and time again, these two teams have met far more than just the home-and-home matches in the La Liga season would schedule. In the first meeting of the year at Camp Nou, the Atleti struck for a 1-1 draw in a match that was considered to be a huge triumph at the time. Since then, the teams have played twice more in the Copa del Rey.
Though both matches more or less mirrored what we saw in the first fixture in terms of Atletico Madrid earning its way with its style, it was Barcelona who advanced from that home-and-home series, winning 3-2 on aggregate to move on to the final.
Recent Form
Still, Barcelona's form isn't great even with the victory over Atletico Madrid just a few weeks in the rearview mirror. The Catalan side was smashed 4-0 by PSG on the road in Paris, and even a 2-1 win over Leganes wasn't much to write home about. Remember that Leganes is a brand new team to La Liga and is barely hovering above the relegation zone. Beating a team like that 2-1 at home feels like a loss even if it did prompt the same three points a 12-0 triumph would have.
Boy, has Atletico Madrid been good lately offensively. For a team that is known for really not being able to get forward, the Atleti have 11 goals in their last three matches. They were tremendous against Bayer Leverkusen on the road, scoring four times in a 4-2 victory that could have been much more emphatic. Sporting and Celta Vigo were both beaten as well in succession in the middle of the month.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
You just think that the Lionel Messi/Luis Suarez/Neymar combination is going to pour goals in against everyone in Spain night in and night out. And yes, there are 43 goals between them in just 20 matches. But Atletico Madrid is just so much different.
Now we're talking about a team with two fantastic backs in Diego Godin and Filipe Luis who always put in great shifts. Put them with Juanfran, and it's just so hard to score against this unit. Don't be stunned if Barcelona struggles again, though in the end, we don't think the result is going to truly be adequate for either side, both of which believe they should be good enough for three points more often than not in a fixture like this.
La Liga Odds: Atletico Madrid 1, Barcelona 1
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