Go against the market when Barca meet Atletico

We start at the Britannia and finish at the Nou Camp in our regular look at the overs/under 2.5 goals markets - The Inside Man does the tipping...

Corinthians v Chelsea

It's become clear that Rafa Benitez values trophies above everything else. All he's said and done in recent years confirms that if there's even a mere sniff of a trophy up for grabs, he'll do everything in his power to secure it.

 

Given that, you can safely expect Chelsea to hold nothing back here. Benitez knows time is short. If he's to secure the Chelsea job long-term, he needs some trophies to wave in people's faces.

 

He also needs to produce entertaining football. The boo-boys almost finished Rafa before he'd started. But the Spaniard reacted quickly by turning Chelsea into a much more attacking unit than he'd probably have wanted. Stamford Bridge has become a modern-day Colosseum. But Benitez is attempting to appease the masses that bay for his blood, by sacrificing his patented defensive style.

 

As for Corinthians, they should only further help to make this an entertaining match, having averaged around four goals a game on their travels in Brazil. Being the billionaires of the Brazilian game, their expectations of victory will also be high, leaving us with two teams that are highly motivated to go for the win.

 

Recommended Bet

Back Over 2.5 goals @ 2.12

 

 

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

It's first versus second in La Liga, in a game I feel could well throw up a surprise at a big price.

 

It doesn't happen often, but Barcelona can be held at bay for long periods. Granada managed it for 87 minutes, while Valencia only lost to a single goal at the Nou Camp.

 

So Atletico, who boast the league's second best defence away from home, have every chance of holding their ground. Of their seven games on the road so far, six have been low-scoring. Barcelona may score on average three goals per game at home, but Atetico on their travels concede only one.

 

Barca will also need to be extremely wary of a player, who for me, is one of the top three strikers in the world. With 16 goals already to his name, Radamel Falcao is averaging more than a goal a game in La Liga. His presence will merit special attention from the home defence, which could in turn weaken their attacking prowess somewhat.

 

It's also worth noting that Barcelona have conceded in five of their seven home games. Should Atletico net first, they have what it takes to hold on and turn this into a very long evening for the Catalans.

 

Recommended Bet

Back Under 2.5 goals @ 2.96

 

Bet HERE

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