Ruben Baraja has Valencia in fine form, with four straight wins in La Liga. Los Che will go in search of a fifth consecutive win against third-place Atletico Madrid. Does our algorithm back Valencia to pick up a fifth win on the bounce?
The La Liga rivals will play on Sunday night at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
💪🦇 pic.twitter.com/qaNBfPISnk— Valencia CF (@valenciacf) January 24, 2024
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Atletico have been lights out at home this season, posting a record of eight wins and one draw. Valencia will be up against one of the division’s best home teams.
Baraja’s Valencia have struggled at times on the road this term. Despite recording back-to-back away wins, Valencia have only won three times on the road in La Liga. Just 12 of their 32 points have come away from Mestalla.
Valencia are one of La Liga’s in-form teams, however. They picked up 13 points from their last six games, scoring 10 goals and conceding only four times.
Atletico, on the other hand, took 10 points from their last six fixtures. The attack bagged 10 goals, but the defence struggled, conceding 10 times.
Atletico’s defence is typically their strongest area. However, Athletic Club, Getafe, and Girona all racked up goals against them.
Two trends emerged from the teams’ recent meetings. The first is that the home team won each of their last two matches.
The second trend was that the winning team claimed 3-0 victories. Will we see another 3-0 win this time around?
Valencia claimed the win in the previous fixture this season thanks to two goals from Hugo Duro and one from Javi Guerra. Los Che had the match wrapped up by the 54th minute of the fixture.
Diego Simeone could have midfielder Thomas Lemar back from an achilles injury.
Defender Cesar Azpilicueta is still out of action with a meniscus injury. Defender Reinaldo Mandava is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Strikers Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann lead Atletico in goal stats. They have combined for 24 goals.
Andre Almeda is the only injury casualty for Baraja. He could miss out following a back injury. Meanwhile, the duo of Selim Amallah and Mouctar Diakbahy are both away at AFCON.
The trend of the home team winning the last two matches between Atletico and Valencia should continue this weekend.
Los Rojiblancos should edge Valencia in Madrid by a narrow 2-1 score. Despite Valencia’s good form, they should struggle on the road at the Metropolitano once more.