Atletico have traditionally struggled in this fixture and our tipster thinks that backing a low-scoring first half on Saturday offers excellent value
Atletico Madrid travel to the Estadio de la Ceramica this weekend for what has proved to be one of their toughest fixtures in recent years.
Los Rojiblancos have lost each of their last three away matches against Villarreal and have failed to win any of their last six encounters with the Yellow Submarine.
Villarreal however have endured a poor start to the campaign with their home form particularly alarming. Javi Calleja's men have failed to win a home league game since early May and their only goal scored at home in La Liga this term came on the opening day of the season.
Atletico Madrid should be boosted by the return of centre-back pairing Stefan Savic and Jose Maria Gimenez who have been training as normal this week. Diego Costa remains the only doubt for Diego Simeone.
Villarreal's Argentine midfielder Santi Caseres returned to training this week, although this game is likely to come too soon for the 21-year-old.
Atletico have improved after a disappointing start, yet like Villarreal they too are far from firing on all cylinders. Traveling to a ground where they have struggled in the past, this could be another test for Simeone's side who have won just one of their four away games this term.
This tends to be a low scoring fixture at the best of times with nine of the last 11 meetings seeing under 2.5 goals, and with neither side at their peak, we should expect another tight encounter.
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