Barca can clinch La Liga crown against Atleti at Vicente Calderon
All Spanish football strikes are off, meaning Coral’s brilliant La Liga bets are back on, as title chasers Barcelona (odds on at 3/4 to win) travel to face holders Atletico Madrid.
There is no doubt Atleti (7/2 to triumph or 11/4 to draw) have stumbled and stuttered since lifting La Liga last season, having lost star players such as Diego Costa, but the Madrid men will not want to see Barca dethrone them on home turf.
The Catalan giants are currently eyeing a tremendous treble, as they sit four points clear of rivals Real Madrid in the penultimate round of fixtures, and will arrive for this clash fresh from cementing a spot in the Champions League final, with a Copa del Rey final also on the cards.
Samba superstar Neymar, magnificent Lionel Messi and sensational Luis Suarez make up Barca’s terrific triumvirate, but the usual suspects will face one of their sternest tests against a Diego Simeone side on home soil.
The fantastic three have all already been on target against Atleti this term, with nifty Neymar netting three in three, so back the Brazilian at 5/1 to fire the first, while injury doubt Suarez is the same price to strike last.
As for majestic Messi (4/1 to bag a brace or better), meanwhile, the electric Argentine must adore playing Atleti, having hit an impressive 22 in just 25 games against them.
It seems Atletico academy graduate Koke hasn’t bought into the Messi myth, however, as the versatile midfielder told press: “We all know what kind of player Messi is – he’s the best in the world but this weekend it will be 11 versus 11 and all of Barça’s players are very, very good.
“One player can’t make that much of a difference – it’s all about the team. We hope that Barcelona don’t win the league at our ground.”
Simeone has his own array of superstar strikers on offer as well, with the talented trio of Antoine Griezmann (7/1 to open the scoring), Mario Mandzukic (13/5 in the anytime market) and Fernando Torres (9/1 to notch last) all capable of causing the Catalans problems.
Barca have, however, come out tops in all three of their tussles with Atleti this term, and have also kept seven clean sheets in their last eight outings across all competitions, so are a tempting 2/1 chance to win to nil.
Our top tip for this clash between champions and challengers to the crown, though, is in-form forward Neymar, who bagged a brace last time out against Bavarian giants Bayern, at 5/1 to get the scoring underway.
