Atletico Madrid will welcome Valencia to the Civitas Metropolitano on Sunday, 15 September as the home team look to continue their unbeaten start to the new La Liga season.
Atletico have won two and drawn two so far but there is a feeling that there is more to come from their new-look attack.
Valencia, meanwhile, have had a disastrous start to the new campaign, picking up just one point from their opening four matches so a trip to the Civitas Metropolitano is likely the last thing they want.
How the bookies view it: The hosts go in as heavy favourites
Given how contrasting their starts to the season have been, it's no surprise that Atletico Madrid are going into this match as heavy favourites. Betfred have priced an Atletico Madrid victory at 1/3 while a win for Valencia has been priced at 9/1. The draw, which would be a hell of a result for Valencia in their current state, has been priced at 4/1.
Recent head-to-head: Atletico dominance
This is a fixture that has been extremely kind to Atletico Madrid in recent times which is the last thing that you want to hear if you are a Valencia fan. Atletico have lost just one of their last 19 matches against Valencia and have come out on top in six of the last eight.
Valencia have never won a match at the Civitas Metropolitano with their last away win against Atleti coming all the way back in 2011.
Players to watch: Time for the new boys to kick into top gear
Atletico Madrid spent more than £100m on revamping their forward line in the summer and after using the first four games to settle into life in the Spanish capital, it is now time for Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth to hit top gear and take the club up a gear or two.
Alvarez has been afforded more slack than his counterpart due to his extensive summer programme at the Copa America and Olympics but most people were expecting him to score at least once in his first four matches for the club.
Sorloth, meanwhile, netted on his debut against his former club, Villarreal, but hasn't found the net since. He did provide an assist in Atleti's final game before the break but he has been signed to score goals and given he is already accustomed to La Liga, there is no excuse for him to not be banging them in at regular intervals.
Predicted line-ups
Atletico Madrid suffered two injuries over the international break and Pablo Barrios and Reinildo Mandava are now both unavailable for this one. The big news out of Valencia is that Rafa Mir has been suspended by the club after being arrested for alleged sexual assault.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Llorente, Le Normand, Gimenez, Azpilicueta, Lino – Koke, De Paul, Gallagher – Alvarez, Sorloth
Valencia: Mamardashvili – Correia, Mosquera, Tarrega, Vazquez – Pepelu, Guillamon – Lopez, Almeida, Rioja – Gomez
Anything else catch the eye?
Goals are proving to be a major problem for Valencia so far this season and they are yet to score more than once in a single game. Atletico, meanwhile, have been rock solid from a defensive point of view and have kept a clean sheet in their last three matches. Atletico Madrid to keep a clean sheet on Sunday has been priced at 7/10 by Betfred.
This La Liga match between Atletico Madrid and Valencia will be played on Sep 15, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atletico Madrid vs Valencia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.