Real Valladolid will take on Atletico Madrid on Saturday, 30 November in a big match at both ends of the La Liga table.
The hosts come into the match at the bottom of the table but a win here could see them move up to 18th and closer to safety.
Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, have clawed their way back into the title race over the past couple of weeks. They are now in third, just five points behind Barcelona.
How the bookies view it: The visitors start as favourites
Atletico Madrid are unsurprisingly the favourites to win this match, however, some bookies haven't priced them overly short. Kwiff have priced an Atletico Madrid victory at 1.48 while a win for Real Valladolid has been priced at 5.00. The draw, which would be a bad result for Atletico given the circumstances, has been priced at 3.50.
Recent head-to-head: Atletico dominance
Atletico Madrid's price of 1.48 seems far too long when you consider their record against Real Vallodolid. They have won 13 of their last 14 matches against Vallodolid in an unbeaten run that stretches back to 2010. Real Valladolid's last win over Atletico came in Madrid with their last win on home soil coming all the way back in 2008.
Players to watch: Alvarez is starting to find his feet
When you cost a club upwards of £80m, there is always going to be pressure on you to hit the ground running but unfortunately for Julian Alvarez that just didn't happen.
A combination of the Argentinian being fatigued from international football in the summer and having to settle into the Atletico setup alongside other new signing, Alexander Sorloth, contributed to him starting his career in Madrid quite slowly but things have started to take a turn for the better in recent weeks.
Alvarez has now scored six goals in his last eight appearances for Atletico and is developing a better understanding with chief creator, Antoine Griezmann. The goal for Alvarez is now to become more prolific in the league as five of those six goals have come in the Champions League and Copa del Ray.
Given how poor Real Valladolid are at the back, this is a golden opportunity for him to start adding to his current La Liga tally of four.
Predicted line-ups
The worrying thing for Real Valladolid is that they can't put their poor start to the season down to injuries and they are only missing one first-team player, Seilim Amallah, on Saturday. Atletico are expected to be without three players for this one with Thomas Lemar, Robin Le Normand and Nahuel Molina all injured.
Real Vallodolid: Hein – Perez, Bah, Sanchez, Ozkacar, Rosa – Moro, Perez, Martin, Tuhami – Syllla
Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan – Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Gallagher – Griezmann, Alvarez
Anything else catch the eye?
For all their struggles at the top end of the pitch, Atletico Madrid have once again been strong at the back this season. They have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four matches away from home in all competitions and are priced at 1.90 with Kwiff to keep another one on Saturday.
This La Liga match between Real Valladolid and Atletico Madrid will be played on Nov 30, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Real Valladolid vs Atletico Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
