Cadiz - Atletico Madrid predictions and free betting tips [09/03/2024]

Today as part of the 28th round of the Spanish La Liga, "Cadiz" will host Atletico Madrid on their home turf. Diego Simeone's team holds the fourth spot in the league table, five points ahead of trailing "Athletic Bilbao", whilst the "pirates" languish in a relegation zone and are in desperate need of points.

Cadiz

Cadiz has gone 23 rounds without a win in the championship, with their last La Liga victory against "Villarreal" back on 4 September. Last weekend, the Andalusians, after a home draw with "Celta" (2:2), shared points for the second time in a row - this time with "Rayo Vallecano" (1:1): Florian Lejeune's goal on the 78th minute seemed to secure all three points for the capital team, but Javi Hernandez equalised on the 91st minute. While a draw with the Madrileños is a decent result considering "Barcelona" and "Real Madrid" both dropped points against the red-and-whites, sharing points with the "Crusaders" is a real disaster considering their direct competitors in the relegation battle. Holding the 18th place in the La Liga standings, "Cadiz" is now five points adrift of 17th position, where Rafa Benitez's proteges are currently positioned. 

A noteworthy fact is that the hosts have gathered 13 out of 19 points this season at home, suffering only four defeats in front of their supporters. Fede San Emeterio will miss the rest of the campaign due to a cruciate ligament tear, as will Roger Marti (fibular fracture), whilst Zaldua, Fali and Luis Hernandez are all still injured and will also be absent on Saturday. Chris Ramos (5 La Liga goals) and Darwin Machis (4 La Liga assists) are the main offensive hopes for the yellow-blue side and both are expected to start against "Atletico". Overall, manager Pellegrino can make only one change compared to the previous round: Sergi Guardiola might appear in the attacking line-up.

Atletico

Currently sitting in fourth place in the La Liga table, the "mattress makers" are eleven points behind Real Madrid and only five points ahead of the closing-in Athletic Bilbao. Notably, the Basques recently knocked the striped side out of the Copa Del Rey, having beaten them twice in the two-leg confronation (0:1 and 3:0). Simply put, Simeone's team's last chance to snag a trophy will be in the Champions League, although even there the situation isn't looking too favourable after a loss in the first 1/8 final away game against Inter Milan (1:0). Last weekend in La Liga, "los colchoneros" finally delighted their home crowd by claiming a 2:1 victory over Betis, thus making up for the 2:2 draw against the relegation threatened Almeria the previous week. 

Atletico have the best home record in La Liga this season, but their away performance leaves room for improvement: in 13 away games, the visitors gathered only 15 points, with all six defeats this campaign coming from away matches. Frenchman Cesar Azpilicueta, Jose Jimenez and Thomas Lemar (his return from injury is scheduled for this month) are all absent from the capital side's roster, while the participation of Antoine Griezmann (11 goals, 6 assists in La Liga) in the upcoming round remains uncertain (he was part of the training session on the eve of the match). In Griezmann's absence, Atletico can count on the captain of the Spanish national team, Morata (14 goals in the league), who made his mark last weekend against Betis; he will be assisted in the attack line by Correa (7 goals), Depay (5 goals) and Llorente (6 goals, 3 assists).

Head-to-head

Last season, Cadiz defeated Atletico (3:2) at home, however in October at the Wanda Metropolitano, Simeone's team equally redeemed themselves by defeating Cadiz.

Prediction for the match: Cadiz - Atletico

Just a few days before the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Inter Milan, "Atletico" doesn't seem too confident in their own abilities. However, going up against a team inhabiting the 18th place in La Liga and without a victory since early September, the Madrid side should take all three points. The potential return of Griezmann will allow Simeone to field his optimal line-up, hence I predict a victory for the visitors.