Atletico Madrid v Valencia: Hosts European form set to continue
Published:Atletico Madrid host fellow La Liga side Valencia, and are 11/10 to take a first leg lead across Spain in this Europa League semi-final.
Atletico are currently on a run of nine straight victories in the Europa League and if they can record another win here they will become the first side to win 10 straight games in this competition in both its current guise and as the UEFA Cup.
Excluding qualifiers, the Rojiblancos are also undefeated at home in all-Spanish ties.
Unai Emery’s side, who are a 5/2 shot to pull off a shock win, have not lost to the side from the capital in their last five and will take heart from the fact they have scored in all their away ties in the Europa League this season.
These two sides did meet each other at the quarter-final stage in 2010, where both games ended in stalemate, and the 12/5 price for the draw looks a tempting one.
Columbian striker Radamel Falcao is at 7/2 to strike first and he has been in superb form in European competition so far this term having netted in his last three outings, not to mention having scored 25 goals in just 26 matches in the Europa League.
Los Che have a goal-scoring defender amongst their ranks in the shape of Adil Rami.
The French international has scored in his last three European appearances, and is at 20/1 to be the first on the score-sheet at the Vicente Calderon.
Valencia’s last two fixtures have seen them both score, and concede four goals, whilst their opponents recently had four put past them in the Madrid derby, so a punt on there being four or more goals at 11/5 could be a smart move here.
