Atletico take on the visitors Athletic Bilbao in the round 33 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Saturday, April 27th at Metropolitano Stadium (Madrid).
Atletico leaves mixed evaluations this season. Los Colchoneros managed to improve in some tournaments, but everywhere it has a rather bitter taste. For instance, after being eliminated from the Super Cup, they quickly avenged themselves against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, then reached the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in several years. But only to lose to Basques there, losing in both matches. Even more significant was the progress of Los Colchoneros in the Champions League. The club, which finished fourth in their group in 2022, won the current quartet in December, then, showing character, lost to Inter in Milan, conceding first at home, but advanced past the Italians in the Round of 16. Oblak shined in the penalty shootout then. But in April, everything turned around. First, leading at home by 2 goals against Borussia, they let Alle equalize. Then in Dortmund, leveling from 0-2, they conceded twice and exited the tournament. Concurrently, not everything is going well in La Liga, and Girona and Athletic are unusually stubborn. Athletic recently managed to secure an important victory over Girona. But then they almost nullified it by losing to Alaves!
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Athletic updated their list of historical achievements, earning a victory over Mallorca in the Copa del Rey. They defeated their opponent in the final only in a penalty shootout. But it's worth remembering that on their way there, Valverde's charges defeated Barcelona and Atletico. And most importantly, this is their first cup in 4 decades, despite numerous lost finals. A couple of them were in 2021 and are still memorable. Thus, Ernesto guaranteed the return to the European arena for his players, but the representatives of Bilbao could have achieved even more. By spring, they successfully pushed Los Colchoneros out of the quartet of La Liga leaders. But before the cup final, the Williams brothers and company lost El Clasico to Real, and then, playing with a man advantage and leading 1-0, allowed Villarreal to earn a penalty just before the final whistle, which Parejo converted – ultimately, Cholo's Team fell behind again. And they failed to capitalize on the opponent's misstep thanks to Granada – they also drew 1-1 with the outsider.
The sides alternately defeated each other. Last season, Los Colchoneros won both times, but in the current season, they have won three times, including cup semifinals, against Basques. Judging by the odds, a revenge is expected from the Madrid giant. But it is clear that both Simeone and Valverde are only thinking about the result, even at the expense of entertainment. Let's bet that there will be under 2.5 goals in total.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
