Atletico Madrid vs Valencia prediction 28.01.2024

• Competition: La Liga
• Date: Sunday, 28th January 2024
• Kickoff: 20:00 UTC / 21:00 CET
• Venue: Metropolitano Stadium (Madrid)

Since Diego Simeone joined Atletico Madrid, the Colchoneros have consistently been among the top three Spanish teams, even clinching the league title twice. However, this year, Simeone’s team is gradually falling behind the top two teams, Real Madrid and Girona. Their main objective now is to land in the top four and secure a spot in next year’s Champions League. At present, they are in fourth place with 41 points after 20 rounds. In the UCL, the Colchoneros effortlessly advanced to the knockout phase by topping their group, and they also performed impressively in the Cup, making it to the semi-finals after defeating Sevilla and Real Madrid in the earlier rounds.

The glory days of Valencia consistently securing their spot in Europe are a thing of the past. Over the past four seasons, the team, often referred to as the Bats, has found themselves stuck in positions between 9th and 14th, far away from a secure place in Europe. In fact, last season they narrowly avoided relegation by a mere two points. This season, their performance has been average for the most part. However, with a recent streak of four consecutive wins, they’ve managed to climb the ranks and currently sit at 7th place with 32 points, just three points shy of the European spots.

Atletico Madrid vs Valencia pick: Over 2.5 goals

This season, Atletico Madrid have been outstanding at the Metropolitano Stadium. Their away record is the only thing preventing them from leading the league, or at least being in close contention. Remarkably, the Colchoneros have not lost a single game at home, winning 14 out of the 15 matches played! Their home offensive performance has been exceptional, netting 37 goals in these 15 games, averaging 2.5 per match. Therefore, it’s reasonable to predict that they could score at least two goals against any team globally. Thanks to their prolific scoring, they have exceeded 2.5 goals in 11 out of the 15 matches, which equates to 73.3%.

Valencia has been performing exceptionally well, securing victories in five of their last six matches across all competitions. Their offense has finally found its rhythm, netting 11 goals in the past six games. Hence, it is anticipated that they will score in the upcoming match as well. However, Valencia has been struggling with their defense on away games, conceding 19 goals in 11 matches. This places them amongst the teams with the weakest defense.

In the last six head-to-head matches, there have been five instances where three or more goals were scored. Taking into account the past performance in head-to-head matches, the excellent form of both teams, and Atletico’s scoring potential at Metropolitano Stadium, we anticipate a match with a minimum of three goals, with both teams likely to score.