After clinching the La Liga title, Real Madrid continue their lap of honour as they visit local rivals Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Atletico still need to confirm their place in the top four and given their recent record at home, are capable of matching the champions.
The La Liga title may have been decided, but teams are still vying for some of the positions below the champions. Atletico Madrid are one of such teams and currently occupy the final Champions League place, three points above Real Betis with four matches left to play.
Atletico Madrid need to rack up the points in the final weeks of the season but their recent form has been a bit erratic. They have claimed two wins and a draw from their last five La Liga matches and were beaten 2-0 by Athletic Bilbao in their previous fixture.
One positive for manager Diego Simeone is that the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano remains a solid stronghold for Atletico Madrid. They are unbeaten in their last five home matches but were held to a 0-0 draw by Granada in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
Real Madrid will head to Atletico on a high after sealing their 35th La Liga title with a 4-0 victory over Espanyol last time out. They followed up that result with an impressive 3-1 second leg victory over Manchester City on Wednesday to book their place in the UEFA Champions League final.
Los Blancos may have won La Liga but will be keen to maintain their momentum ahead of the Champions League final. Carlo Ancelotti’s men do not appear to be slowing down as they head into Sunday’s clash with nine wins from their last 10 La Liga matches.
Things are just as smooth for Real Madrid on their travels with just one defeat suffered in their last 10 away matches. They have claimed eight wins in that run, including a 3-2 victory at top four hopefuls Sevilla.
How the bookies view it
Atletico Madrid have the slight edge among the bookies with a home win priced at 23/20 by bet365. A victory for Real Madrid is valued at 45/17 by SBK, who are also offering odds of 28/11 for a draw.
Recent head to head
Real Madrid often have the upper hand against Atletico Madrid and claimed a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in December. However, the last two meetings at the Wanda Metropolitano have ended in draws.
Players to watch
Joao Felix has impressed for Atletico Madrid in recent weeks and will be the one to watch on Sunday. The attacker has three goals in his last four home matches and is priced at 11/5 by SBK to get on the score sheet.
Karim Benzema might be given a rest. The striker is on an unstoppable scoring run for Real Madrid at the moment with 13 goals in his last 10 matches across all competitions. He has also found the net three times in his last four appearances against Atletico and is priced at 6/4 by Unibet to maintain that run on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have quality in attack and with both teams scoring in the last meeting at the Wanda Metropolitano, a repeat could be on the cards at 4/5 with SBK. Over 2.5 goals is valued at 8/9 by 10bet while Paddy Power is offering 23/10 for over 3.5 goals.
Real Madrid have opened the scoring in three of the last four meetings and could be backed to score first at 7/5 with Paddy Power.
This La Liga match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid will be played on May 8, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
