Alaves vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Predictions

Alaves vs Atletico Madrid
Spanish La Liga
Date: Sunday, 29 April 2018
Kick-off at 15:15 UK/ 16:15 CET
Venue: Estadio Mendizorrotza (Vitoria-Gasteiz).

Alaves thrashed Las Palmas 4-0 last week to put an end to the relegation threat. They sit at 13th in the table with 41 points which is 13 point above bottom three with 4 matches to close the season.

The form has been good for Alaves lately with the team winning in 3 of their last 4 games. However, they were a bit inconsistent at home off late losing to Celta and Girona in the space of three games. Still, 6 wins and 1 draw came from 7 games at this ground prior to the slip in form.

Atletico Madrid are second in the table and they do not have any realistic chance to steal the La Liga title from Barcelona. At the same time, they have already booked their spot in next season’s Champions League since they have a 16 point lead over 5th placed team.

Still, Simeone’s men have a mini battle to fight against cross city rivals Real Madrid sitting at third at a 1 point distance. They would love to finish above their arch rivals, but both Madrid sides have important European games coming up on the midweek and they are most likely to go in with a fringe squad this weekend.

Atleti’s form has not been that great lately as they are without a win in 4 games on the road. Their last trip is a forgettable one as they were humbled by a 3-0 defeat at Sociedad.

Alaves vs Atletico Madrid: Head-to-head

Atletico Madrid won 1-0 when the teams met earlier this season. The win put them on a five match unbeaten run against Alaves, yet 3 of those are draws including both LaLiga matches of last season.

Alaves do have a good home record against Madrid, though they are win-less in the last two with a draw and loss. They won three on the bounce prior to that without conceding a single goal.

All five home matches of Alaves with Atletico Madrid saw under 2.5 goals.

Indeed none of their last 9 h2h matches across all venues and competitions saw more than 2 goals.

Alaves vs Atletico Madrid: Predictions

We need to presume that every team playing in Champions League or Europa League semifinal on the midweek will rest their main players this weekend. Atletico in this case can do this without a second thought as they are guaranteed second or third spot in the league.

Now, Alaves are a tricky customer to negotiate and they are doing well at home lately. Atletico traditionally do not have a good record at this venue and visiting here without key players this match can turn in the direction of home team.