Atletico Madrid tries to reignite its title bid and end Athletic Club’s six-game unbeaten run in La Liga on Saturday.
Bookmaker Betfred offers odds at 5.00 for Atletico to win to nil, and the odds are at 4.33 for Athletic to win without conceding a goal.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: December 15th, 5:00 P.M. (EST)
Atleti has lost some ground in the La Liga title race with two defeats in five games. Diego Simeone’s men were beaten by Barcelona 1-0 in their last away outing, and a recent trip to visit Las Palmas also went sideways. The team could now lose three straight away league matches since December 2021.
Winning at San Mames as a visiting side isn’t an easy task either. In addition to going six games unbeaten in the league, Athletic also owns an impressive home record. The Lions lost their first home game of the season to Real Madrid but have since then tallied five wins and two draws in front of their fans.
It’s been the Inaki Williams show for Athletic lately, as the Ghana international has scored in three consecutive league matches. Producing another productive performance would be very special for Williams because he has never scored in four consecutive La Liga games.
Overall, Williams has tallied eight league goals and three assists this season, leading the Athletic attack alongside Gorka Guruzeta, who has seven goals to his name. Atletico’s defense can be very stringy, and only two teams have allowed more goals in the Spanish top flight this season, but the home side definitely has the quality to hurt them on Saturday.
Atletico will continue to look toward Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata to lead the way. The two have combined for 27 goals across all competitions and appear to be playing the best football of their careers.
Morata’s form has faded a bit lately, but Griezmann continues to perform at a very high level week in, week out. He scored his fifth Champions League goal of the season midweek against Lazio and has been involved in four goals in the past four league rounds, registering two goals and two assists.
Atletico did the double over Athletic a season ago but couldn’t get any wins in three head-to-head matches the year before. It’s been an unpredictable match-up throughout the years, and it should be a great spectacle on Saturday at the San Mames on a special night, during which Athletic celebrates the career of legendary goalkeeper Jose Angel Iribar by opening a statue in his honor outside the stadium.
