Barcelona has taken control of La Liga. The Catalans are level in points with their foes on Saturday, Atletico Madrid, and they've got a game in hand as well. If either side takes all three points in this bitter rivalry, it could go a long way towards determining Spain's champion.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Barcelona -185
Atletico Madrid +575
Draw +310
Over/Under 2.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
Barcelona is 10-1-0 this year at home, and you have to go back a long ways to find the last time it was beaten by anyone, particularly domestically, at Camp Nou. However, with 15-3-3 Atletico coming to town, anything is possible.
The respect of the Catalans is obvious. Barca is set at -185 on the moneyline and is favored by a full goal here against one of the best teams, not just in Spain, but in the entire world.
The total in most of these matches featuring these top teams in La Liga are high due to the fact that these offenses are awesome. Barca is averaging over three goals per game here at home. That said, the Atleti have only allowed eight goals in 21 matches this season, easily the best in Spain. That's why the total has more or less leveled off at a flat 2.5.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"The club and my teammates are counting on me. I know they expect a lot from me and that I'm an important player. I'm a player who's more and more complete, who helps out defensively, who hurts teams in attack and who scores goal. So I hope to continue like that." – Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann on his influence on his team's offense
RECENT FORM
Blown points are at a premium here in La Liga for the three major teams, and Atletico Madrid is the most recent club to blink. A match over the weekend against Sevilla ended in a completely drab scoreless draw. That's now two straight matches across all competitions without a goal for the Atleti, and that clearly isn't going to cut it.
Barca meanwhile, has been right on point. Six straight matches across all competitions have gone its way, and many of those duels haven't even been remotely close. Here at home, the last three times the Catalans have been out there, they've won 6-0, 4-0 and 4-1. In fact, it's been six matches since Barcelona hasn't won a match by at least three goals.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The big problem that we have with Atletico Madrid is that it doesn't have a legitimate No. 9 to put in the front of the net and come up with the big goals. Griezmann has been trying his best, but his 12 goals really seem dwarfed when you consider just how awesome the strikers are on the other side of the pitch.
Atletico might have arguably the best defense in the world, but on a day where Lionel Messi played just a half hour, it still allowed two goals at home against Barca back in September. Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez… It's just impossible to slow down all three of these men, and oh yes, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic are two of the better midfielders in the world as well when it comes to creating up front.
Here at Camp Nou, we just can't see the Catalans struggling all that much. The Atleti have picked a terrible time to go on a bit of a lull, and we just can't see how playing against arguably the best team in the world on the road is going to sit well with them.
Barcelona 2, Atletico Madrid 0
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