Atletico Madrid vs. Elche CF 8/22/21 LaLiga Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Atletico Madrid is welcoming Elche CF to Wanda Metropolitano in round 2 of the Spanish LaLiga. Atletico is the titleholder, and they have started this season with a nice road win against Celta Vigo. Elche has won only 1 of their last 6 games, but they failed to win their season opener last week.

Atletico wasn’t great in the preseason, but it’s called preseason for a reason. In their season opener against Celta Vigo on the road, Atletico has had 47% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and a decent 80% of the correct passes. It was a rough game, but Atletico was leading at halftime. In the 59^th minute, Atletico has conceded a goal, and the result was now 1-1. With a goal in the 64^th minute, Atletico has won this match 1-2. Both teams have conceded a few yellow cards, and a red card as well. Angel Correa is continuing his great form from last season, and he was the goalscorer of both goals for Atletico. Lemar and Niguez have each added an assist. Felix, Arias, and Herrera are injured, Hermoso is suspended because of the red card, while Felipe is still questionable. Atletico will need to repeat their last season if they want another title, and that will be hard to accomplish, but not impossible.

Elche was also struggling in the preseason, and they haven’t been creating a lot of chances, but a positive result at the start of the season is better than a loss. Elche was hosting Athletic Bilbao, and they have had 50% of ball possession, 2 shots on goal, 6 corner kicks, 1 big chance created, and 80% of the correct passes. This wasn’t a particularly good game, there weren’t many chances, and it ended exactly like it should, in a 0-0 draw. Elche has barely escaped the relegation last season, their offense was very weak, and their defense wasn’t much better. The expectations are higher this season in Elche, but I just don’t think they have the quality to expect anything better than last season, and I honestly think they will get relegated. Piatti is the only injured player for Elche at this time.

Elche hasn’t won any of their last 3 games against Atletico, while Atletico hasn’t lost any of their last 6 home games against Elche. Atletico is the better team on both ends in this matchup, and I don’t think Elche will even create a decent chance here. Atletico is the way to go.