Returner Morata with the next goal?
Atletico Madrid get a visit from Villarreal. The home side got off to a flying start last Monday with a 3-0 win over Getafe. However, the visitors also won their opening game by the same scoreline at promoted Valladolid.
The two offensive lines of the two upcoming opponents are thus already at operating temperature and the respective clean sheets are of course equally impressive.
For the match at the Estadio Metropolitano between Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, this tip aims for a goal by Alvaro Morata for the home side, All the goals will be scored by Alvaro Morata.
Atletico Madrid – Statistics & current form
The Colchoneros finished third last season and were unable to defend their title from the previous campaign. One reason was the capital’s unfamiliar defensive weakness. While they had conceded only 25 goals in the championship season, they conceded 43 in the last final reckoning, which was considerably more.
To make this part of the team more efficient again, Nahuel Molina was signed from Udinese as a powerful defender for the right side. The Argentine is 24 years old and also plays for his country’s national team. The clean sheet on the first matchday against Getafe also points to an improvement in the defence.
Morata is back
Coach Diego Simeone can also call on Alvaro Morata again in attack. The Spaniard was loaned to Juventus for the last two seasons, but is now back in the Rojiblancos squad.
His comeback was a success: against Getafe he scored a brace for the 1974 World Cup winners.
After the departure of Luis Suarez, who scored a whopping 32 goals for Madrid in the last two seasons and is now winding down his career in Uruguay with Nacional, the striker has unquestionably found an adequate replacement in Morata. In addition, the top scorer of the past season is still on board in the person of Angel Correa.
The home side are strong at home
Atletico can also count on the home bonus: Last season, only two of the 19 home games ended in defeat for the eleven-time Spanish champions (12-5-2). Only Sevilla and arch-rivals and champions Real Madrid topped Atletico’s home record.
Moreover, Joao Felix is in his very appealing early form. In the recent 3-0 win over Getafe, the Portuguese set up all three of his team’s goals! He has also been on hand in the two final test matches with assists against Juventus and Cadiz.
Will the hosts at least score twice?
With the ten-time Cup winners’ current potent attack, odds on the Indios to score more than one goal in the clash between Atletico Madrid and Villareal also make sense. In addition, bets on a home win with at least a two-goal difference are of interest.
Predicted line-up of Atletico Madrid:
Oblak – Savic – Molina – Witsel – Mandava – Niguez – Lemar – Koke – Lllorente – Morata – Joao Felix
Last matches played by Atletico Madrid:
La Liga
16/08/2022 – Getafe 0 – 3 Atletico Madrid
Club friendlies
07/08/2022 – Juventus FC 0 – 4 Atletico Madrid
05/08/2022 – Cadiz 1 – 4 Atletico Madrid
30/07/2022 – Manchester United 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
27/07/2022 – Atletico Madrid 4 – 0 Numancia
Villarreal – Statistics & current form
Villarreal finished a respectable seventh at the end of the season in the past two seasons and now started with a win as mentioned at the beginning. With 3:0, the CF prevailed against Valladolid.
The success in this amount was not necessarily expected, because coach Unai Emery currently has to do without the best striker of last season in the person of Arnaut Danjuma due to injury.
The former Bournemouth attacker was the only player to deliver a double-digit goal haul for the 2021 Europa League winners last season.
Defensive runs up in new form
On top of that, Villarreal sold Pervis Estupinan, a very strong defender, to Brighton in the Premier League during the summer break, which is why the clean sheet was also worthy of all honour. Especially considering that Alberto Moreno, another defender, is currently unable to play for the two-time Champions League semi-finalists due to injury.
Alejandro Baena scored twice against Valladolid, and like Morata, the 21-year-old made a very successful return to the “Yellow Submarine”. The Spanish international, who has been on loan to Girona, scored his brace in just 28 minutes of play!
Predicted line-up of Villarreal:
Rulli – Albiol – Foyth – Torres – Pedraza – Coquelin – Parejo – Capoue – Pino – Moreno – Jackson
Last matches played by Villarreal:
European Conference League Qualification
19/08/2022 – Villarreal FC 4 – 2 Hajduk Split
La Liga
13/08/2022 – Real Valladolid 0 – 3 FC Villarreal
Club friendlies
07/08/2022 – Inter Milan 2 – 4 Villarreal FC
03/08/2022 – Villarreal FC 3 – 1 Levante
31/07/2022 – Fulham 1 – 1 Villarreal FC
Atletico Madrid – Villarreal Direct comparison / H2H record
Three-time Europa League winners Madrid and Villarreal drew 2-2 at the Estadio de la Ceramica in their last head-to-head encounter. Hereby the teams repeated the result from the first leg!
The home side are also unbeaten in eight meetings with the 2008 runners-up (3-5-0) thanks to the two draws. In the Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal clash, our prediction is that this streak will continue.
Atletico Madrid – Villarreal tip
For the clash between Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, the prediction includes a goal by Alvaro Morata. The striker, who returned from Juve after the departure of Suarez, is now set to play up front alongside Griezmann and immediately delivered two goals on his comeback last matchday. This proved a very strong early form.
The home side will also be very motivated in their first home game of the new season, so expect an attack-minded home side and plenty of scoring chances for the hosts.
Madrid’s squad is also clearly better than Villarreal’s, and the visitors did win their opener, but that was also due to the easy task, as it was only against newcomers Valladolid.
They will also be a little tired, having played Croatian Cup winners Hajduk Split in Conference League qualifying last Thursday. Therefore, risk-averse bettors can place bets on a handicap win for the Rojiblancos at Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal, at high odds.
