Two teams who have not made the best start to the season square off on Monday night in La Liga as Valencia host Atletico Madrid.
It has not been the best start to the season for Valencia, who have one win and one defeat from their opening two matches. They began with a 1-0 victory over Girona before losing by a similar scoreline at Athletic Bilbao last time out.
While the last result is disappointing, what will be more worrying for manager Gennaro Gattuso is Valencia’s poor attacking display. They failed to register a single attempt on target last time out at Bilbao and could only muster two in their opening fixture.
Valencia’s goalscoring problem is one that has persisted for a few seasons now, they have not been helped by the sale of attacker Goncalo Guedes, who netted 11 times last term. The Portuguese forward was replaced with Samu Castillejo, who was not particularly prolific for AC Milan and is now struggling to find his feet in Spain.
Atletico Madrid have made a similar start to the season with a win and a defeat from their opening two matches in La Liga. They began with a 3-0 win at Getafe before losing 2-0 at home to Villarreal last time out.
While it was a disappointing defeat to Villarreal, manager Diego Simeone will be keen to point out the extenuating circumstances surrounding the defeat.
Atletico Madrid were reduced to 10 men following the red card to Nahuel Molina while midfielder Axel Witsel had to start in central defence with defenders Mario Hermoso and Jose Gimenez battling injury problems.
Atletico Madrid are known for their defensive solidity and have some good news ahead of Monday night with Gimenez declared fit to start. At the other end of the pitch, they also have more attacking options than Valencia with Alvaro Morata already off the mark this season while Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann also carry a significant threat.
How the bookies view it
Atletico Madrid have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 13/12 to claim the win. A victory for Valencia is valued at 16/5 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 9/4 by William Hill.
Recent head to head
Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in the last 14 matches against Valencia, claiming nine wins in that run. They claimed a 3-2 victory in the most recent meeting between both teams back in January.
Players to watch
Atletico Madrid’s defence is one of the tightest around and they will be pleased to have Jose Gimenez fit enough to start. They kept a clean sheet at Getafe in their opening fixture and Gimenez can help keep another at 7/5 with BoyleSports.
While Atletico Madrid have multiple threats at the other end of the pitch, Alvaro Morata has been the most impressive this season. The striker netted a brace in the opening fixture and is priced at 9/5 by Unibet to once again get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Atletico Madrid’s solid defence and with Valencia struggling in attack, BTTS NO could be on the cards at 6/7 with Sport Nation. Atletico’s superior attack also means a win to nil could be considered at 9/4 with bet365.
Atletico Madrid are one of the most physical sides in La Liga and have already had a player sent off this season. Given their tendency to run foul of the rules, they could be picked as the first team to be booked at 17/20 with William Hill.
This La Liga match between Valencia and Atletico Madrid will be played on Aug 29, 2022 and kick off at 21:00. Check below for our tipsters best Valencia vs Atletico Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
