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Barcelona v Atletico Madrid headlines this Sunday evening’s action and there are plenty of football tips and betting predictions across Andy’s Bet Club to indulge in. Before you dive into our experts’ analysis of the recent meetings of the Catalan Giants and the Mattress Makers, make sure you’re getting the most for your money by checking out our selection of free bet offers and the latest bookmaker offers.

When considering your bets on the rest of the card this weekend you’ll want to check out our European football accumulator tips or our bet builder stats to aid your pursuit of value.

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

What a treat we have in store on Sunday at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys where Bareclona face Atletico Madrid in the first outing of El Otro Clasico this season, amid a tense title battle in La Liga. Both teams are tied on points and trail tied-first Real Madrid and Girona by 4 points in what’s building up to be one of the most competitive seasons in the Spanish top-flight for years. 

Barcelona come into this game in a mix of form, beating the likes of Porto, Alaves and Real Sociedad, yet being undone by Shakhtar Donetsk, drawing with Rayo Vallecano and the worst of all, losing 2-1 in El Clasico at the end of October. But looking at the bigger picture, Barcelona have only seen defeat on two occasions in their 19 games across all competitions this year and Xavi’s men will be hoping to extend their recent success to four consecutive victories on Sunday night.

Atletico Madrid come into this fixture in fine form with five victories in their last six games across all competitions and eight victories in their last nine in La Liga, including a very convincing 3-1 win over current title favourites Real Madrid. Antoine Griezmann has been superb this year, going slightly under the radar with Jude Bellingham stealing the headlines, scoring nine goals including the winner last weekend, extending Atletico’s scoring streak to 14 straight games across all competitions. However, both of their defeats have come away from home this year, partnered with their recent difficulties against Barcelona, this could certainly be a tricky game. 

In recent meetings, this fixture seems to be pretty much all or nothing. Four of the previous six meetings dating back to November 2020 have seen under 2 goals, one of those was a 2-0 victory for Atletico Madrid and the other a slight anomaly was a 4-2 win for Barcelona.

But history aside, both these teams are loving scoring goals this campaign. Barcelona are averaging 2 goals per game across their 23 games so far this season, and Atletico are edging them out at 2.17 in the same period. However, Barcelona’s chequered form will no doubt cause some concern for Xavi as he faces a side that has scored an impressive 16 goals in their last 6 outings, 9 more than his team. 

We have delved deeper into the last two times these teams have faced off to find any clues for some interesting betting and player prop angles. Let’s hope for some exciting entertainment on Sunday.

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2️⃣ The Last Two: Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

Barcelona 1-0 Atletico Madrid, Date: 23rd April 2023: Xavi’s men had too much class for Simeone’s boys

Barcelona welcomed Atletico Madrid when sitting comfortably at the top of La Liga, with an 11-point gap to second-placed Real Madrid, looking to regain their momentum after seeing their title charge slowed down by back-to-back draws. 

Barcelona were in the midst of an excellent La Liga campaign, which saw Xavi’s side win 23, draw four and lose two of their 29 matches, collecting 73 points up to that point – throwing it back to the glory days that had seemingly evaded them in recent seasons. Barcelona boasted the best home record in La Liga this season, picking up 36 points from 42, but Atletico have been just as strong on their travels, collecting 30 points from 42, which certainly added some more spice to this clash. 

The first half was a prime example of the class that Barcelona had been exhibiting week in week out, dominating possession and creating the better opportunities, apart from Griezmann’s effort rattling against the bar in a very cheeky effort from outside the box. The visitors certainly showed great defensive organisation and patience, soaking up the pressure for almost the entire first half. 

It wasn’t until the 44th minute that the deadlock was broken after a clever pass from Raphinha found Ferran Torress in way too much space 20 yards out, before he coolly slotted home the eventual winner.

The second half showed much more promise for Atletico with more chances for Griezmann and Angel Correa, chances that just have to be put away in such cagey affairs. Likewise, some miss of the season contenders from Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski also added to the drama – this game could have gone a completely different way if the players had their shooting boots on. 

The fouls and cards numbers in the match were note-worthy, especially from the visitors in the latter. This game saw 31 fouls between the sides, Atletico picked up 16 fouls which resulted in a very impressive 8 yellow cards – six of which were given out in the last 15 minutes of the game, a chaotic ending. The hosts picked up 4 yellows from their 15 fouls, which they were very lucky not to have seen more of after a scrappy midfield battle. 

Corners were few and far between with both sides taking 3 each. Most of the attacking play was driven through the middle which left the set piece flags fairly dusty.

Griezmann returns to face Barca once again and has proved a danger in each of his matchups with his former club since his departure, so perhaps markets involving the in-form Frenchman are worth studying.

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Atletico Madrid 0-1 Barcelona, Date: 8th January 2023: Another foul-fest

This fixture marked Diego Simeone’s 418th game leading Atletico, a La Liga record, the most consecutive matches in charge of a single club in Spain’s top-flight. But the Argentine saw his boys fall to a fifth loss in 16 games and any hopes of winning the title were seemingly extinguished with Atletico lying in fifth place, 14 points adrift of the table-topping Barca. 

Another first-half goal proved the difference between the sides, Ousmane Dembele scored with a sweet side-footed finish following Gavi’s perfectly weighted lay-off. A second goal could have been added shortly after but Pedri’s lofted strike from Jose Gimenez’s blind backpass was clawed out by Jan Oblak to conserve a respectable scoreline going into the break. 

After a strong first half display from the visitors, Atletico were left chasing the game in the second half as they looked to salvage a point. The hosts had double the shots on goal (20) with 5 of these testing Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Griezmann posed a threat throughout the second half, with an excellent rising drive tipped over the bar in what felt like slow motion. The Frenchman eventually got the better of the Germany goalkeeper in the 94th minute, but Ronald Araujo was well positioned to clear it off the line to spare last-minute heartbreak for the visitors – a strong performance from Griezmann against his former club despite the result. 

Both teams finished the clash with 10 men after Stefan Savic and Ferran Torres were dismissed for a very comical UFC-esque tussle in midfield. The two former Manchester City players grappled each other off the ball, ending up on the turf intertwined with each other and they were both shown straight red cards for the incident. 

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