Copa del Rey: Atleti’s Herculean Task Without Their Talisman

Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone and his men will have their backs against the wall during their return match in the Copa del Rey semifinals against Athletic Bilbao.

It’s hard enough to trail in aggregate, but to overcome a deficit without the spearhead of your team is quite a tall task for any outfit in football.

Morata and the rest of his teammates will require a herculean effort to advance to the finals to face the already-qualified Mallorca, who bested Real Sociedad on penalties.

Meanwhile, Bilbao have been steamrolling in the past few months, as they continue to climb the La Liga standings and advance in domestic cups to boot.

Valverde and his outfit are ready to pounce on the opportunity to add to the club’s trophy case as they claw their way past Atletico and make their 40^th final appearance in the Copa del Rey.

Talking Points

Bilbao are heating up at the right time

Ernesto Valverde and his men are really going for it! Bilbao chose the perfect time to string up strong results, as they are now in a prime position to climb to the upper echelon in La Liga and produce strong Copa del Rey 2024 results to boot.

After winning 4-2 in aggregate against Barcelona in the quarterfinals, Bilbao immediately doubled down and took a one-goal lead against Atletico at the hostile Civitas Metropolitan Stadium.

Adding to that, they proved in the top flight that Girona can bleed, toppling them with a 3-2 score line in front of their home crowd at San Mamés.

In a span of just a few weeks, Valverde and the rest of Bilbao have championed over three of the top four clubs in the Spanish League, proving that they can tussle and rub elbows with the best Spain has to offer.

Did I mention that they thrashed Mallorca 4-0 in La Liga a few weeks ago? The same Mallorca will be their Copa del Rey finals opponents if they get past Atletico on Friday.

Atletico Madrid have their backs against the wall without Antione Griezmann

Atletico Madrid have been a little sketchy for the past few weeks, something they can’t afford given that they’re in danger of slipping out of the top four in the Spanish top flight, trailing Inter Milan 1-0 on aggregate in the Champions League, as well as trailing 1-0 against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey.

Diego Simeone and his outfit are known for their grit, heart, and grace under pressure, but things are starting to get a little overwhelming for even for a great club like Atletico Madrid.

If you think trailing in aggregate coming into a return game is hard enough, imagine pulling it off without your star player and the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. Unfortunately for Simeone and his men, this is their reality.

Atleti will play their return game against Bilbao without their No. 7, Antoine Griezmann. The 32-year-old suffered a moderate-grade ankle sprain during their Round of 16 tie against Italian side Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.

Griezmann’s injury will see him out of commission for the next couple of weeks, forcing him to miss their pivotal game in the Copa del Rey, a couple of La Liga matches, and even possibly their return match against Inter in the Champions League.

To shake things up even more, Simeone’s versatile midfielder, Marcos Llorente, was nowhere to be seen during the team practice on Monday. Reports say that Llorente was put through an individualised session without any statements or explanations from the club.

As of now, SBOTOP fans should just take this news on Llorente with a grain of salt, and expect the midfielder to be available against Bilbao.

History

Bilbao stole a win at Civitas Metropolitan Stadium, where they braved the roars of Madrid fans and came out of the battle with a goal-lead in aggregate. Álex Berenguer was accurate in his penalty attempt, giving Bilbao the lead halfway into the first half.

In recent form, Atletico Madrid have stayed tepid after their loss to Inter Milan. Their most recent match was a La Liga tie against Almeria, the worst club in the top flight. Atleti were without Antoine Griezmann at this point, were humbled once again and failed to get the win against the relegation candidates. Their tie ended in a 2-2 score line.

Meanwhile, Real Betis pulled Bilbao back to earth with a 3-1 victory at the beautiful Benito Villamarín Stadium. Because of that loss, Bilbao failed to overtake Atletico in the league standings, and Diego Simeone stays in the top four of the table for at least another week.

Betting Tip

Due to their recent form and the unavailability of Antoine Griezmann, the Copa del Rey 2024 betting odds have Athletic Bilbao as the slight favourites at 2.40, while Atletico Madrid are the not-so underdogs at 2.79 with a draw price of 3.06.

Despite having a better record in the 2023–24 season, Bilbao have the slight edge to advance to the tournament finals and face Mallorca. And in my opinion, the odds are on point for this match, which is why my betting tip is 1X2 Athletic Bilbao at 2.34.

Another line to consider is total goals under 2.50 at 1.66. Atleti’s second-leading scorer and leading assist man this season will not be available for Simeone, which is why there’s a good chance that the Madrid outfit won’t be scoring as much for this match.

 

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