Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Spanish La Liga match.
A powerful transfer campaign has automatically turned Atlético Madrid into a dark horse in the race for the title — the Madrid side now has a significantly better chance of getting ahead of Real Madrid or Barcelona. Meanwhile, Villarreal had a poor pre-season, highlighting their defensive issues.
Villarreal
Out of six friendlies, Villarreal managed only one win, conceding a total of 12 goals in these matches. Their final friendly against Brighton (0:4) could have entirely crushed fan’s hope — Brighton was much stronger in attack (5-17 in shots). It's also worth noting that it was Atlético who took Villarreal's top scorer: Alexander Sørloth, who nearly clinched the La Liga Golden Boot with 23+6.
Atlético Madrid
Interestingly, the Norwegian risks being just a backup option at Atlético after they signed Julian Álvarez. The Argentine became the most expensive transfer of the summer, although in the friendly against Juventus (2-0), goals came from players who might leave (Joao Felix and Angel Correa scored). In their four friendlies, the team scored 12 goals — their attack got a much-needed boost.
Villarreal - Atlético Madrid Prediction
In the previous season, Villarreal hardly posed any problems for Atletico Madrid in their head-to-head meetings (1-3 and 1-2). The Madrid side will kick off their La Liga campaign with a victory, proving their status as title contenders. You could bet on a straight win at odds of around 2.00, but to play it safe, we'll go with a handicap of (0).
