Betting. Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona[01.02.17] : another fail away from home for Barca

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Copa del Rey

Semifinal, first leg

01.02.2017

Bet: Madrid (Draw no Bet)

Contrary to the majority of the pre-season sports betting predictions Atletico Madrid are hardly involved in the championship race in La Liga. Los Colchoneros sit on the 4^th position with a 10-point deficit from leading Real Madrid. They are also 6 points behind Barcelona and Sevilla. The last two matches in Primera were quite disappointing for Simeone’s side who drew with Bilbao (2-2) and Alaves (0-0). At the previous Copa del Rey stages the betting companies considered Madrid to be a favorite and they predictably overcame Guijuelo(10-1), Las Palmas (4-3) and Eibar (5-2).

Barcelona are not as good as the sports betting expert expected them to be. Blaugrana suffer from the lack of consistency. After drawing with Villarreal (1-1) Barca wiped the floor with Las Palmas (5-0) and Eibar (4-0), but didn’t manage to overcome Betis (1-1) this weekend. So at this moment the Catalans sit on the second position with 42 points. They pass ahead of Sevilla only due to a better goal difference. Besides, on their way to the Copa del Rey semifinal Enrique’s team confirmed betting predictions and beat Hercules (8-1), Bilbao (4-3) and Real Sociedad (6-2).

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While choosing a bet it’s worth keeping in mind the fact that Barcelona have a lot of troubles playing away from home. This season they have already suffered 3 defeats and have been held to 3 draws on the road in all competitions. As for Madrid, they are traditionally strong at home. The only defeat at Vicente Calderon came in the match against Real Madrid. The betting experts remind that none of the tams is in perfect form. In addition, both sides have some selection concerns. Oblak, Tiago, Fernandez and Gimenez will be absent for Madrid while Iniesta and Busquets will miss out for Barca.

The bookmakers don’t name a clear favorite of the first semifinal match: Atletico Madrid – 3,00, Draw – 3,25, Barcelona – 2,45. It should be mentioned that their last head-to-head encounter took place in September and ended with a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou. It’s worth backing the draw one more time. However, giving the fact that Barca often struggle away from home it is recommended to bet on “Draw no Bet Atletico Madrid” (2,14). Besides, you can try to bet either on “Total Goals under 2,75” (1,55) or “Atletico Madrid or Draw and Total Goals under 3,5” (2,04).