Barcelona vs. Atlético Madrid – betting tip, prediction, odds for the La Liga match (06.02.2022, 16:15 CET)

This weekend, the Spanish La Liga returns to championship routine with the 23rd matchday. The classic Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid on Sunday at 16.15 represents the top match. The fifth-placed team will meet the fourth-placed one at the Camp Nou, with the Blaugrana and the Rojiblancos taking 35 and 36 points respectively. Jesús Gil is in charge of this match.

Barcelona are unbeaten in six league games with three wins and as many draws. Moreover, Xavi’s side managed their third full success in five La Liga appearances in their last appearance so far with a 1-0 win at second-last Deportivo Alavés. This gave the Catalans self-confidence after disappointing weeks for them. In the Supercopa in Saudi Arabia, they lost to leaders Real Madrid in the semi-finals after extra time. Then the same happened to them in Copa del Rey at ninth-placed Athletic Bilbao.

Atlético Madrid did not fare much better in either cup competition. They lost to Athletic Bilbao in the other Supercopa semi-final and to sixth-placed Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey. In contrast, the Rojiblancos picked up two home wins in their first three championship games this year, with a 2-2 at seventh-placed Villarreal in between. Afterwards, Diego Simeone’s team most recently managed a 3-2 win against tenth-placed Valencia.

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What speaks for Barcelona?

  • Won three of its last five championship games so far
  • Did not concede a goal in two of their last three La Liga appearances
  • Opponents experienced three defeats and then a draw in their last four championship away games so far
  • On top of that, the Rojiblancos never played to nil away from home.

What speaks for Atlético Madrid?

  • They won two of their last three league games.
  • Their opponents are without four defenders, including three centre-backs

Our betting tip:

  • Bet: Both teams score goals – Yes
  • Bookmaker: 1xBet
  • Odds: 1.86

Expert analysis Barcelona

Barcelona went into the break with a 1-0 win at second-bottom Deportivo Alavés on 23 January. Frenkie de Jong scored the goal in the 87th minute. Xavi’s team did not cover itself with glory, but at least it gained some self-confidence after frustrating weeks. And that just in time for the first home game in more than a month and a half.

In their last match in front of their home crowd, the Blaugrana defeated 15th-placed Elche in mid-December, winning 3-2. Subsequently, they had a 1-1 at second-placed Sevilla and, at the beginning of January, a 1-0 at fourth-last RCD Mallorca and a 1-1 at 14th-placed Granada.

Barcelona then travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Supercopa. There, Xavi’s side were beaten 2-3 in the semi-finals by leaders and arch-rivals Real Madrid after extra time. Eight days later, on 20 January, the Copa del Rey ended for them with the same result. Ninth-placed Athletic Bilbao prevailed at home.

Now, of course, the Catalans must show a better performance at home against Atlético Madrid than they did against Deportivo Alavés. But as things stand today, Xavi will have to do without seven players.

Here, the biggest problems are in the defence. With Eric García, Clément Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti three centre-backs and with Álex Balde a left-back are injured. Sergi Roberto, Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay are also out. On the other hand, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, on loan from Arsenal, could make his debut.

Expert analysis Atlético Madrid

Atlético Madrid were just as little spoiled for success in mid-January. Because: The reigning champions were defeated by Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the Supercopa and then by sixth-placed Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey.  And, unlike Barcelona, the Colchoneros lost 1-2 to the Leones and 0-2 to the latter’s regional rivals after regular time.

That made the 3-2 home win against tenth-placed Valencia on the 22nd matchday all the more important. On top of that, the team with Diego Simeone on the sidelines showed morale as the Ches led 2-1 until the 89th minute. Before that, they scored 2-0 in the 44th minute and often a goal conceded just before the interval breaks the neck. This time it was different, as substitute Matheus Cunha gave them the equaliser in the 64th minute. Then Ángel Correa (90th) and Mario Hermoso (93rd) scored twice in the last second.

This was Atlético Madrid’s second win in three league games. The first of these, a 2-0 home win against their eighth-placed city rivals on 2 January, ended a run of four defeats. In the process, the Rojiblancos did not concede a goal for the only time in their last eight La Liga appearances to date.

They then drew 2-2 at seventh-placed Villarreal. After a 0-2 loss to Real Madrid and two 1-2 defeats to Sevilla as well as Granada, this represented the first point win away from home since the end of November.

So Atlético Madrid’s biggest problem lies in their defence. And the fact that regular goalkeeper Jan Oblak has been infected with COVID-19 doesn’t make things any easier. Moreover, Simeone will be without Geoffrey Kondogbia, Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann.

Head-to-head comparison Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid

The first clash between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in the 2021/2022 La Liga took place on 2 October and ended in a 2-0 home win. However, Xavi’s predecessor Ronald Koeman was still coaching the Blaugrana at the time. In the previous season, Barcelona experienced against Atlético Madrid a 1-0 away defeat and a 0-0 at Camp Nou. The Catalans’ last victory against the club in the capital so far arrived in December 2019 with a 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Our betting tip and the best odds

With both opponents in the Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid classic not really in top form, we would avoid three-way bets. Instead, our betting tip is that both teams will score goals.

The home side do play to nil at Deportivo Alavés. However, we would not use the match at the penultimate as a yardstick. Not least because the 1-1 in Granada was the fourth time in five championship games that both sides netted a goal in match of the Blaugrana. The same record applies to the Rojiblancos’ most recent five La Liga appearances.

Barcelona vs. Atlético Madrid – Betting tip: Both teams score goals – Yes, odds 1.86 at bookmaker 1xBet

Alice Kopp
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By Alice Kopp

Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. That's why she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at first hand. And that awakened her enthusiasm for football. Since she has loved writing since childhood, Alice began to study journalism while still at school. It was very convenient for her that her class took part in a project of a German daily newspaper. She was also allowed to write for the children's pages of an Austrian daily newspaper and to get a taste of the sports department of the same medium. This is how she received her first press accreditations, which was of course anything but a matter of course for the then 18-year-old. Although she was partly advised against it, Alice decided to study journalism and communication sciences. After a few years, she decided to use the exams she had taken as an elective. Nevertheless, she applies the knowledge she has acquired in her further professional life. The same applies to her language skills. In addition to her mother tongues German and Italian, Alice is also proficient in English and Spanish. She also understands French and can use this language in research. During her studies, Alice was involved in an Austrian football club. At the same time, she wrote for a total of three Austrian portals and worked as an Austria correspondent for an Italian-language online medium. This collaboration started during Giovanni Trapattoni's era at Red Bull Salzburg and continued during EURO 2008. This gave her the opportunity to interact with Trapattoni as well as with Italian journalists. From the following year, Alice initially worked with a Swiss portal before discovering sports betting content for herself. On the one hand, this kept her in sports journalism, and on the other, it broadened her horizons. And that both in the context of the sports betting industry and with other sports as well as countries. In the field of sports journalism, she focused in particular on football from around the world, volleyball and beach volleyball. In addition, she naturally wrote several guides, bookmaker profiles, bonus articles and other content for betting enthusiasts. She did this for the same company for about ten years, writing articles in German and Italian. She also built the Italian-language website together with the managing director. Meanwhile, Alice started working with another Austrian football club. Furthermore, she joined the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS) in 2016. This gives her the opportunity to watch teams and athletes on the ground relatively often. Not only sports betting, but also radio In January 2019, the next step in her professional development followed. For: she started creating premium content on the topic of sports betting. In the process, she finally put out feelers to almost all countries and all continents. And this was not least due to the fact that both German and English-speaking users subscribed to her content. Nevertheless, Alice continued to use her knowledge of Italian, among other things. On the one hand, because she regularly exchanges ideas with Italian colleagues, and on the other, because she works with a web radio station. The Corona crisis had a strong impact on the sports world and on interest in sports betting, primarily in the early days. Therefore, a fresh start was necessary and, on balance, Alice found the fields of activity that suited her best. She also writes articles for an agency on almost all disciplines as well as on eSports and content for a German online medium. Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. That's why she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at first hand. And that awakened her enthusiasm for football.