Betdistrict.com
Diego Simeone will not rest any starters for the match against Almeria, despite Atletico having an important game in the Champions League against Zenit on wednesday. The game will be at home so a time span from saturday until wednesday is more than enough for the hosts to recover. Simeone will field the best possible starting 11, he knows that the team can not allow any kind of slip-ups in these kind of games if Atletico wants to mount any kind of challenge to Real Madrid and Barcelona or at least be comfortable on the third position.
Atletico Madrid has no injuries and suspensions for this game, so Diego Simenone has a full squad at his disposal.
The home side has started the season perfectly: 3 wins in 3 league games and 2 draws against Barcelona in the Supercup, lost on away goals. Atletico was not shy with goals so far, beating Sevilla 3-1, Rayo Vallecano 5-0 and managing a 2-1 win in a tough road game against Real Sociedad. The atmosphere in the locker room is excellent, with a lot of players renewing their contracts in September as a testament to the good state of the club.
Meanwhile, Almeria is struggling in the start of the season, being winless so far with just 2 points in 3 games. Very poor performances considering they didn`t meet any top team. The visitors have a dubious mentality coming into this match, saying that they count on Atletico underestimating them and concentrating on the champions league game. Such an approach from Almeria is wrong on so many levels and I think they may be very surprised today on Vicente Calderon. The visitors are a very poor team on the road, that is a fact, and they concede a lot of goals, so the match-up looks very bad for them: Atletico is strong at home and has a fantastic attacking line. This is not the kind of game in which an upset seems on the cards.
Atletico is currently pumping on all cylinders, the team is great, and motivation is at high levels. They are big favorites against a team like Almeria and with the huge advantage that home court gives them, they should cover the spread, winning at a 1 goal handicap. Almeria will barely get a couple of points away from home this season and Vicente Calderon does not look like the place to do so. My call would be Atletico to win 3-0.
Pick: Atletico Madrid (-1,5)
Odds: 1.79 @ 10Bet
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 5.53
Event date: 14 September
Editor Facts
- Ocean is 6 for 7 in December
