Atletico’s form
Fourth-placed Atlético Madrid are looking to bounce back while the three teams ahead of them have been inconsistent. Leading Real went far ahead in the table, but Girona and Barcelona are within striking distance. If Diego Simeone’s side can extend their current three-game unbeaten run in La Liga, they could well create serious tension in the Champions League zone. Read free football prediction for tournaments online and don’t miss lucrative bets.
There is one drawback – in the last eight away matches of La Liga they have won only one victory, and that was against Granada. If the “Indians” fixed the problems in the central axis area, the defense, they could easily compete for more vacant places in La Liga. In the Champions League, the “mattress players” are at the 1/8 stage, where they have already lost to Inter (0:1) in Milan.
In return they will face a most difficult test. It is impossible not to highlight the attacking duo of forwards Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann. He has 25 goals scored in the national competition. Unfortunately, we won’t see Griezmann on the field, plus defender Cesar Azpilicueta and midfielders Lemar and M.Paulo are out.
Barça’s chances
The current national champion is completely failing the current season. Barcelona is fighting with Atlético and Girona for medals, but loses the race for gold by 8 points to its principal rival in the form of “cream” from Madrid. This is largely due to the team’s defensive performance. Over 27 rounds, the Catalans conceded 34 goals in La Liga. Barça’s defense is performing very poorly this season, and Ter Stegen, who has recovered from injury, is not helping as he did in the championship year. Based on all this, we do not rule out that Xavi’s team will concede at least once against Mallorca.
Last weekend, the Blaugranas failed to concede again, and not just anywhere, but in El Clasico against Athletic Bilbao, but the guests also failed to score. And at San Mamesi, the Catalans lost not only the opportunity to get ahead of Girona in the La Liga standings (all previous victories of the Rojiblancos, due to the high level of competition, may remain only a pleasant memory without the desired consequences) and to close the gap with Real Madrid up to six points, but also two players from the main squad – de Jong and Pedri.
Match prediction
We should await a real football performance from this match, in which both teams are able to please not only with an active attack, but also with an abundance of scoring chances and set-pieces, which can ultimately affect the result. Barcelona’s defense has been far from ideal this season. And Atlético is capable of scoring a goal in a match against any opponent. Forecast – Both teams will score.
