Copa Del Rey Semifinal: Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Club Odds
Midweek First Leg Blockbuster
Two of Competition’s Most Successful Clubs Face Off
Atletico Madrid and Athletic Club have won 33 Copa del Rey titles between them. On Wednesday, they’ll contest the first leg of the Copa del Rey Semifinal in Madrid. Atletico haven’t reached the final for over ten years and they’re currently the favorites to win the competition. Meanwhile, Athletic Club are going for their third Copa del Rey final appearance in the last five years. Ahead of this first leg blockbuster, we’ll preview the Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Club odds.
Atletico Madrid vs. Athletic Club
Date, time:
Location: Estadio Civitas Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
Streaming: Live Sports Stream
Head-to-Head
Athletic Club are winless in their last seven Copa del Rey fixtures vs. Atletico Madrid. They most recently met in this competition in the 2013-14 Quarter-Final, where Atletico won both legs. However, Athletic Club did defeat Atletico Madrid 2-0 in the most recent La Liga meeting, back in December. The series is tied over the last 10 meetings, in all european competitions. During that time, both teams have four wins and two matches have finished all square.
Atletico Madrid Grab Point in El Derbi Madrileño
In their fourth Madrid Derby of the season, Atletico Madrid went to crosstown rivals Real Madrid on Sunday. Real took the lead 20 minutes in as Brahim Diaz slotted home past Jan Oblak. Atletico regrouped and Marcos Llorente scored a second half stoppage time header to preserve a draw for Diego Simeone’s men. Incredibly, Atleti haven’t lost to Real in 90 minutes in four matches this season.
That’s to say that Los Colchoneros can compete with anyone and they’re typically stellar on home turf. Atletico Madrid still haven’t lost a home match this season and they’ve defeated both Real Madrid and Sevilla at the Metropolitano on their Copa del Rey schedule so far. At the moment, Atletico Madrid are the favorites to win the Copa del Rey, at +150 odds. Antoine Griezmann put in another excellent shift for Atletico on Sunday and he’s the key man for Simeone. Memphis Depay has also been stepping up his goal contributions lately, as he assisted Llorente’s equalizing goal.
Atletico play a hard-nosed brand of football but they’ve been dominating games to an increasing degree this season. With players like Saul, Koke, Rodrigo de Paul and Llorente manning the midfield, Atletico almost always dominate the center of the pitch. The first leg Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Club odds currently price Atleti as +105 favorites for Wednesday’s match. Still, Jose Gimenez, Thomas Lemar and Cesar Azpilicueta are injured.
Williams Brothers Both Doubtful for Athletic Club
For the second time in their last three matches, Athletic Club scored four goals when they shut out Mallorca last Friday. Yuri Berchiche scored a brace within 20 minutes on a couple of difficult finishes and Bilbao never once looked back. Striker Gorka Guruzeta got his name on the scoresheet after a VAR check in the second half. Then, Athletic Club captain Iker Muniain came off the bench and scored the fourth.
Athletic Club also put four goals on Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Quarter-Final. The Basque side are a difficult outfit to beat, as they’ve lost just one of their last 18 matches overall. That has made Ernesto Valverde’s side a good pick for soccer betting over the last few months. Asier Villalibre has only started one match in La Liga this season but he’s already found the net six times in the Copa del Rey.
Nico Williams was a persistent danger last Friday but he had to come off early with an injury. Both he and brother Iñaki Williams are considered doubtful for Wednesday’s match. Meanwhile, Iñigo Lekue is also out and forward Alex Berenguer is listed as doubtful.
Match Analysis & Odds
Heading into the first leg on Wednesday, the Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Club odds price hosts Atleti as +105 moneyline favorites. Atletico Madrid -0.5 also comes in at +105 odds, while Athletic Club +0.5 sits at -125. Athletic Club have only lost four times all season and shouldn’t be counted out here, as they historically tend to take the Copa del Rey quite seriously.
Athletic Club are +265 underdogs for this one, which corresponds to a 27.4 implied chance of victory. Even a draw would be a solid result for Bilbao as they head back to the San Mames for the second leg. A draw shows +230 odds for this one and Atletico Madrid’s draw vs. Real Madrid was their third 90-minute draw vs. Los Blancos in the span of a month.
Bilbao keeper Unai Simon leads La Liga with 11 shutouts this season but Julen Agirrezabala has been playing in Copa del Rey matches. Regardless, under 2.5 goals display -120 odds for Wednesday’s matchup.
