Atletico Madrid vs Real Betis

Estadio Metropolitano is the venue as Atletico Madrid and Real Betis go head-to-head in a top-six La Liga six-pointer.

Atletico Madrid’s stranglehold on La Liga’s top-four loosened after an underwhelming run of one win from their last four league games (D2, L1), bookended by a 2-2 draw at dead-last Almeria in the previous round. Diego Simeone’s frustration hit the roof in midweek Copa del Rey action as a 3-0 second-leg loss at Athletic Bilbao denied his side their best chance of avoiding another trophyless season. A painful defeat in the Basque country marked Atletico’s sixth winless game in their last seven across all competitions (D2, L4). The homecoming fixture is well-timed, considering Los Rojiblancos boast a near-perfect home record in La Liga this season (W12, D1). More confidence comes from the fact they’ve won their last five home league encounters against Betis ‘to nil.’

Real Betis’ long-standing scoring woes in the capital stretch back to 2016, when they last scored a goal in an away La Liga H2H. But since that 5-1 demolition, they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet on seven consecutive top-flight visits to Atletico (D1, L6), derailing their hopes of posting a third successive away league victory. Back-to-back away wins without conceding form part of Betis’ five-match unbeaten run in La Liga, yet they’ve yet to win an away league clash against sides commencing this round in the top half of the table (D2, L2). Betis’ underwhelming away form in high-profile games decreases Manuel Pellegrini’s hopes of posting his first managerial win against Simeone from 12 attempts (D4, L7). But a 3-1 home triumph against Athletic Bilbao last time out could be a decent source of inspiration.