Champions League Betting – Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid (+175) vs. Real Madrid FC (+160) (Draw +240, 2 o/u)

The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals get under way next Tuesday (April 14) with two bitter rivals, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, squaring off in the first leg of their two-game, home-and-home series (at 2:45 p.m. Eastern at Stadium Vicente Calderon).

Real, who have dominated in the Champions League this year after taking the 2014 crown, can’t be happy with their quarterfinal draw. Atletico have been a nightmare for Real in La Liga this season, winning both games against their crosstown rivals. Indeed, the Merengues have only managed to top Atletico once in their last seven head-to-head meetings and were embarrassed 4-0 in their last encounter back in February.

“We know they are very competitive, and it will be difficult,” said Real’s director Emilio Butragueno. “It’s an even tie and small aspects will be important. They are a very strong, cohesive team, strong from set pieces and have a great spirit. We have to recuperate all the injured players we have. We are the title holders, and we’ll do our best to get into the semifinals.”

Both squads had to work hard to get to the quarter-finals. Atletico lost their first game against Bayer Leverkusen (1-0), and needed penalties to finally emerge triumphant after taking the second leg by an identical 1-0 score.

Real, meanwhile, looked to be on their way to an easy Round of 16 win after topping Schalke 04 by two goals on the road. But the plucky German squad put out a heroic effort in the second leg in Spain, winning 4-3 at Santiago Bernabeu, narrowly falling 5-4 on aggregate.

Atletico, the home side, is a modest +160 favorite for the first leg, while Real is +175 to pull out a road win. Expect a tremendous battle in the first leg with the draw (+240) perhaps providing the best value.

(Photo credit: El Coleccionista de Instant (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo may appear cropped.)