Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao square off in an intriguing-looking clash in La Liga at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday night.
Diego Simeone’s side got their title charge back on track with a comfortable 3-0 victory away at Valencia last weekend.
That success snapped a pair of back-to-back draws in the league and kept Atleti hot on the heels of both Real Madrid and Barcelona in what is a fiercely competitive title race.
Fresh from a frantic 4-4 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie with Barcelona in midweek, Atletico Madrid will now welcome Athletic Bilbao to the capital on Saturday.
Ernesto Valverde’s side are currently enjoying a 16-game unbeaten run in the Spanish top flight, most recently recording a resounding 7-1 win over Real Valladolid.
As such, the White and Reds will arrive at the Metropolitano just one place and five points behind their hosts.
How the bookies view it: Atleti to march on
Despite drawing two of their last three home games in La Liga, Atletico Madrid are odds-on 20/21 favourites with Boylesports on Saturday night.
Athletic Bilbao are as big as 5/2 on Boylesports to inflict a first La Liga home defeat of the season on Atletico Madrid, while the draw is also considered unlikely at 23/10 with the same oddsmaker.
Head to head: Advantage Atleti
Atletico Madrid have held the upper hand in this fixture in recent years, coming out on top in four of the last five La Liga meetings between the pair. Three of those Atleit victories have arrived via a scoreline of 1-0 and a repeat here can be backed at 11/2 on Boylesports.
Players to watch: More joy for Julain?
Julian Alvarez scored his 20th goal of the season away at Barcelona on Tuesday night. The Atletico Madrid attacker also provided an assist during that game, making him an attractive option for a goal or an assist on Saturday night at 11/10 on Bet 365.
With six goals to his name across his last four outings in La Liga, Oihan Sancet stands out for an anytime strike here at 4/1 on Bet 365.
Predicted line-ups
Atletico Madrid have a relatively clean bill of health coming into this clash, with experienced midfielder Koke the only slight injury concern.
Following last weekend’s aforementioned 7-1 thrashing of Real Valladolid, Bilbao boss Valverde is expected to stick with the same starting XI on Saturday night.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Llorente, Lino; Griezmann, Alvarez
Athletic Bilbao: Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri; Jauregizar, Vesga; I Williams, Sancet, N Williams; Sannadi
Anything else catch the eye?
Backing both teams to get on the scoresheet looks worthy of interest at 10/11 on Boylesports.
Each team has obliged in 17 of Athletic Bilbao’s 25 matches in La Liga this season, including 10 of their 12 outings away from the the Estadio San Mames.
What’s more, BTTS backers would have been rewarded in four of Atletico Madrid’s last seven home games in the Spanish top flight.
This La Liga match between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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