Betting Tips: Girona vs Atletico Madrid

Los Rojiblancos have been far from prolific on the road and we are backing the first leg of this Copa del Rey tie to see few goals on Wednesday night

Atletico Madrid travel to the Estadio Montilivi on Wednesday evening to face Girona in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.

The domestic cup competition is some way down the list of priorities for Diego Simeone's side with Atletico aiming to sustain a La Liga title push, while retaining hopes of reaching the final of the Champions League which they are hosting this year.

Girona, meanwhile, are more interested in retaining their top flight status, although their strong opening half of the season has already put them in a good position to avoid relegation.

Since Girona earned promotion to La Liga for the first time in 2017, they have faced Atletico on three occasions. All three of those league encounters have ended in draws, with the most recent coming at the start of December

William Hill offer another stalemate at 2/1 (3.00), with Girona priced at 15/4 (4.75) and the visitors at 17/20 (1.85).

Antonio Adan is likely to replace Jan Oblak in goal for Atleti, with the likes of Vitolo and Nicola Kalinic also coming into the side. Diego Costa is still recovering from surgery, while Filipe Luis and Lucas Hernandez are also likely to miss the trip to Catalonia.

Girona manager Eusebio Sacristan is likely to rest some players and we can expect top scorer Cristhian Stuani to be on the bench.

Away from home this season Atletico have been far from impressive, managing just two wins in their last nine games on the road, and in the away leg of the previous round they toiled to a 1-0 win at fourth tier Sant Andreu.

With Girona consistently making life difficult for Los Rojiblancos, we should be in for another tight game and the bookmakers certainly do not expect the goals to flow.

Under 2.5 goals is offered at 8/15 (1.53), odds that reflect the likelihood of a keenly contested tie, with this selection paying out in eight of Atletico's last ten matches on the road in all competitions.

For slightly higher odds, a better way to oppose a high scoring game is backing under 2.5 goals and both teams to score 'no' at 17/20 (1.85). Another option to consider is backing the first goal to come after the 31st minute at 21/20 (2.05).