Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla Odds & Preview – La Liga January 12

• League leader Atletico Madrid hosts surging Sevilla on Tuesday (3:30 pm ET) in a rescheduled Matchday 1 contest
• It’s a clash of Spain’s two hottest teams, with Atleti riding a four-game league winning streak and Sevilla undefeated (3-1-0) in its last four
• Get a breakdown of both clubs, Tuesday’s odds and a few value picks below

Spain’s two best defensive teams meet at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on Tuesday, as Atletico Madrid (12-2-1) entertains Sevilla (9-3-4).

Diego Simeone’s Atleti has been nothing short of incredible defensively in La Liga, conceding just six times in 15 matches (0.4/game) and earning a win in 80-percent of its matches thus far in 2020-21.

Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla has been relatively airtight, too, averaging just 0.81 conceded goals/game — though the nervionenses are fresh off conceding a season-high two goals in last week’s 3-2 win over Sociedad.

Atleti has Real Madrid and Barcelona hot on its tail — albeit with three games in-hand — while Sevilla is setting up to be in a dogfight for Champions League qualification this season.

It’s a key match for both, with plenty of betting intrigue to boot.

Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla Odds

Odds taken Jan 11 at DraftKings

The recent head-to-head history in the matchup is dead-even, with the past four league clashes ending in draws — and with both teams scoring. Under 2.5 has hit in three of those four meetings.

Atletico Madrid: Efficiency Wins Championships

For the first time since 2015-16, it appears Atletico Madrid will be in the mix to win La Liga.

While Simeone’s squad saw a five-game winning streak in all competitions snapped by a shock 1-0 defeat at third-division Cornella in cup play last Wednesday, there is little doubt that the rojiblancos are an elite outfit.

11- Luis Suárez has been involved in 11 goals in his opening 12 games for @atletienglish in #LaLiga (nine goals & two assists), the best starting for a Atlético's player in this century, surpassing Radamel Falcao in 2011 (9+1). Quality#AlavesAtleti #AlavesAtleti pic.twitter.com/Lt94Pmle7u

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 3, 2021

Two-thirds (8/12) of Atleti’s league wins have come via clean sheet, and the club’s plus-23 goal differential is the best in La Liga; the shrewd acquisition of Luis Suarez is paying dividends, with the Uruguayan leading the team on nine goals — though Marcos Llorente (6) and Joao Felix (5) have also impressed at points offensively.

Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla Stats

Sevilla: Kings of the Under

Prior to Saturday’s five-goal slugfest win over Sociedad, Sevilla had been one of La Liga’s surest bets as an Under play.

Under 2.5 had hit in six-straight Sevilla league matches prior to the 3-2 game at the Sanchez Pizjuan on the weekend, and seven of the team’s last eight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YKRvjqwnTE

The squad’s road defensive form in league play is impeccable, with three clean sheets in four matches.

Sevilla locked up its bench boss through 2024 (MARCA) — a contract that would be the longest of Lopetegui’s career in club management, and a sign that the club is happy with both his results and style of play.

Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla Best Bets

The numbers are plain for all to see: 67-percent of Atleti’s games have hit the Under 2.5 this season, while Sevilla’s matches have gone Over 2.5 just 25-percent of the time.

Tuesday’s visitors have seen the second-fewest total goals/game on the road (1.88) and are likely to line up defensively against the league’s first-place outfit.

Three of Sevilla’s last five league matches have been tied at halftime, and we believe that Lopetegui’s pragmatic approach combined with Atleti’s modus operandi of one-goal games lend themselves to a possible halftime tie on Tuesday.

Picks: Under 2 (-109), 1H Draw (-113)