Valladolid Host Atletico Madrid with La Liga Title on the Line

Game: Valladolid vs Atletico Madrid
Location: Jose Zorrilla Stadium, Valladolid
Time: Saturday, May 22, noon ET
Television: beIN Sports
Live Stream: fuboTV

La Liga Betting Lines

Head to Head

• Competitive Matches: 95
• Valladolid Victories: 21 (104 goals)
• Atletico Madrid Victories: 55 (192 goals)
• Draws: 19

The last time they met, Atletico Madrid defeated Valladolid 2-0. Thomas Lemar and Marcos Llorente scored in the second half, but Atletico controlled the entire game.

Valladolid hasn’t been able to defeat Atletico since the 2008-09 season. Atletico owns a 9-1-0 record in their last 10 games matchups, scored 20 goals, allowed just four, finished with a clean sheet seven times and failed to score once.

The last time they met at Jose Zorrilla Stadium, the game ended 0-0. Another draw wouldn’t be good for Atletico, because they could lose the title to Real Madrid if “Los Blancos” defeat Villarreal.

Why bet on Valladolid?

Yes, Atletico Madrid needs a victory to win the title, but Valladolid needs one to remain in La Liga, otherwise they’ll be playing in Division 2 next season, and that would mean a very low blow financially.

The problem is that Valladolid hasn’t won in the last five games, lost the last three in a row, and they also need Elche to lose against Athletic Bilbao, who’ll be playing for nothing.

Valladolid owns a 3-7-8 record when playing at home, and they also are 5-10-3 against the online betting spread and 7-7-4 over/under. To give you an even better idea, they lost 0-1 and 0-3 when Real Madrid and Barcelona visited them.

Individually, Shon Weissman could be the key to defeat Atletico Madrid. He’s the team’s top scorer with six goals, and he got some rest in their last game after coming from the bench to replace Luis Perez.

Raul Garcia and Fabian Orellana will not be able to dress due to injury, while Roberto Jimenez is out after getting a red card in their last game. Their expected lineup is Jordi Masip, Luis Perez, Joaquin Fernandez, Javier Sanchez, Lucas Olaza, Pablo Hervias, Ruben Alcaraz, Oscar Plano, Kike Perez, Shon Weissman and Joao Filipe.

Why Bet on Atletico Madrid?

Atletico Madrid defeated Osasuna 2-1 to remain in first place with 83 points, two more than Real Madrid, who defeated Athletic Bilbao 0-1. Thanks to that huge victory, all Atletico needs to do to win the title is defeat Valladolid.

“It’s our life. We choose this profession and try our best to reach these moments. Later on, it’s a sport. It’s your turn to win and some will lose. Now, we just need to prepare in the best way possible for the final in Valladolid, a competitor who also needs to win,” said manager Diego Simeone after the game against Osasuna.

So far, Atletico has won 10 games on the road, drew in five and lost three, and they also are 9-7-2 against the spread and 6-8-4 over/under. Atletico didn’t allow any goals in their last two road games, and they own the best defensive unit overall after allowing just 24 goals in 37 matches.

Luis Suarez has been sensational all season long. He’s the team’s top scorer with 20 goals, and he could be the one leading them to the tile this Saturday, just as he led them to victory last Sunday.

Thomas Lemar remains questionable due to injury. Atletico’s expected lineup is Jan Oblak, Stefan Savic, Felipe Monteiro, Mario Hermoso, Marcos Llorente, Sime Vrsaljko, Koke, Saul, Angel Correa, Joao Felix and Luis Suarez.

Final Analysis and Predictions

Just two of the last six games between Valladolid and Atletico Madrid went over 2½ goals, but this Saturday both need to go all-in, so you can expect fireworks in a close, back and forth game until the very end.

Atletico has been handling the pressure surprisingly well, and they’re used to playing games like this one, that’s why I think they’ll get the victory and lift the trophy, just as the Odds to Win La Liga are hinting.

Score Prediction: Valladolid 1, Atletico Madrid 2

Pick: Atletico Madrid -285