Champions League Betting – Atletico Madrid at Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid (+310) at Real Madrid (-109) 

Two bitter rivals will clash in the second leg of UEFA Champions League quarterfinals today as Atletico Madrid travel across town to meet Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (1:45 PM Eastern).

The first leg of the two-game aggregate goals series ended 0-0, a result leaves everything to play for in the second leg and leaves a lot of scenarios looking pretty viable. Another scoreless draw would see the game go to extra time; but any other draw would give Atletico Madrid the ticket due to away goals. Real Madrid need a win at home to advance, whether in the first 90 minutes or beyond. 

Though the pressure on both teams is immense, Atletico manager Diego Simeone is trying to enjoy the moment. “We want to savor and enjoy more nights like these because they don’t come around often. There is no pressure on these teams, but there is responsibility. … We are focused only on ourselves,” said the manager.

Real Madrid is a slim -109 favorite despite playing at home. The Merengues would be heavier favorites but will have to soldier on without several key players, including Luka Modric (knee), Karim Benzema (knee), and Marcelo (suspension); making matters worse, Gareth Bale (calf) is listed as doubtful.

While the slate of setbacks is coming at the wrong time, Real manager Carlo Ancelotti realizes that injuries are a part of the game that everyone has to live with.

“We have to live with the injuries – we have done so in the past. We are without some important players, but we couldn’t be any more motivated. Atletico are very strong, one of the best teams in the world in defense, so we have to do what we did in the first half at their stadium. [This time] we want to play well from the first minute until the last”, said Ancelotti.

These two clubs have met seven times this season, and Atletico have dominated so far with four wins and three draws. Given the number of injuries affecting Real, the Atletico moneyline (+310) looks like the best value.

(Photo credit: Ver en vivo En Directo (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)