Atletico v Chelsea tips – Spanish side big favourites to draw first blood
When the draw for the last sixteen of the Champions League was made, the clash between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea immediately caught the eye and the tie has become even more attractive since the London club decided to replace Frank Lampard with Thomas Tuchel as Head Coach.
Tuchel has inherited a squad brimming with talent and we should remember that the German steered Paris Saint-Germain to the Champions League final last season before a narrow defeat against Bayern Munich, with the former PSG coach now looking to find a way past a difficult Atletico Madrid team who top the La Liga standings.
Atletico Madrid Betting Favourites to Beat Chelsea
At the time of writing, you can compare football betting odds with the leading bookies and get a price as big as 27/20 about Atletico Madrid winning the first leg clash against Chelsea on Tuesday 23 February, with many punters likely to back Diego Simeone’s side to land a first leg victory.
Atleti are having an excellent 2020/21 season which has seen them storm clear of Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga and they qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League by finishing second behind Bayern Munich in their group.
Despite a lack of supporters at the Wanda Metropolitano, Atletico Madrid have still enjoyed outstanding home form which has seen them win nine and draw one of their home games, with that amazing defence conceding on just three occasions.
Are Chelsea a Good Champions League Bet to Beat Atletico?
Despite Atletico Madrid’s amazing La Liga record this season, it should be noted that the Mattress Makers registered just two victories during the group stage and they were absolutely pummelled at the Allianz Arena when losing 4-0 to Bayern, while they were also unable to beat Lokomotiv Moscow home or away.
Chelsea will head to the Spanish capital in search of away goals and the latest odds comparison reveals that the Blues can be backed at 13/5 to leave Spain with a first leg victory and it will certainly be the case that the visitors have the attacking weaponry to cause problems for their opponents.
Tuchel will look to get his team firing and in particular Timo Werner who has really struggled since a big money arrival from RB Leipzig, with the German favouring a system with three central defenders and wing-backs that include the excellent Callum Hudson-Odoi roving forward to help the attack.
Do the Bookies Expect Atletico or Chelsea to Go Through?
Before Frank Lampard was sacked, the betting market indicated that Atletico Madrid were heavily likely to go through to the last eight of the Champions League, although the arrival of a new manager means that the latest football odds illustrate that it could be close to determine who goes through.
Indeed, bookmaker bet365 are among those that have Chelsea as slight favourites to qualify and they do have the slight advantage of playing the second leg clash at Stamford Bridge, although empty stadiums mean that there won’t exactly be a partisan crowd to carry any team home.
What Are the Best Atletico v Chelsea Betting Odds?
It could be that we see a cat and mouse game in the first leg of this Champions League clash, with both teams anxious to not fall behind and we saw Atletico edge out Liverpool in the first leg of their last sixteen clash last season before managing to somehow go through in the second leg.
With this in mind, perhaps the best bet could be Under 2.5 Goals with the online football betting markets and the best betting odds that two or less goals are scored can be chalked up at 8/13.
A 1-0 victory for Atletico would suit them very nicely before their trip to London and that option can be backed at a best price 6/1, with the bookies fully aware of the sort of game plan that Diego Simeone will execute.