Prediction & odds for the game: Liverpool (4/7) v Atletico Madrid (11/2)
When: Wednesday, 11th March 2020 @ 8pm K.O
Where: Anfield
Liverpool will go in search of another famous European night at Anfield as they attempt to initiate a comeback against Atletico Madrid.
Liverpool
Liverpool are the reigning Champions of Europe but right now, we’re not so sure that means all too much. Their main priority is on recapturing the Premier League title and as such, it doesn’t really feel like they’re putting forward the retention of the European Cup as a priority. They looked below par in the first leg, to say the least, and if they want to try and claw their way back into this tie then they need to showcase the kind of fight that they’re known for.
Narrow wins to Norwich City, West Ham United and Bournemouth have served as proof that Liverpool aren’t playing all that well right now, but the greater proof came when they were humbled in a 1-0 first leg loss to Atletico. They went on lose their unbeaten run in the Premier League thanks to a 3-0 demolition at the hands of Watford, before being knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea.
Atletico Madrid
In a title race that both Barcelona and Real Madrid seem hellbent on trying to lose, it’s a shame that Atletico Madrid haven’t been able to live up to their own expectations in La Liga this season. They’re struggling to get past both Sevilla and Getafe in the table, and because of that, a huge focus from fans of the club has gone on trying to win the European Cup. If they get past Liverpool, there’s an argument to be made that they’ll become the favourites to win it all.
While they may be situated down in fifth place in the league, Atletico have been able to string together a nice little unbeaten run in the last few weeks. They beat Granada 1-0 before being held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia, which was followed by the win over Liverpool and a 3-1 triumph against Villarreal. Since then, though, they’ve dropped four points against Espanyol and Sevilla.
Conclusion
Atletico will try and sit on this lead like there is no tomorrow and, at this stage in proceedings, can you really blame them? They already know that they’re capable of keeping Liverpool out for 90 minutes, and if they do so again at Anfield, they’ll be in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It obviously isn’t going to be that simple, though, and we actually think this game is going to break down into a really fun back and forth with the Reds winning on the night – however, we think the Spaniards will score an away goal that’ll take them through late in the game.
As a result of that prediction, we can indeed confirm that we think the over 2.5 goals market will be hit.
Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 4/7 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 1/1. (All odds are taken from bet365).
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