Lokomotiv v Atletico Madrid: Simeone's side no longer defensively reliable

Lokomotiv Moscow 11.521/2 v Atletico Madrid 1.412/5; The Draw 4.77/2
Tuesday 3 November, 17:55
Live on BT Sport 1

Atletico can take big step towards qualification

Atletico Madrid will be looking to maintain their positive momentum when they travel to Lokomotiv Moscow on Tuesday evening.

The Spanish giants are currently second in Group A. After losing their opening match away at Bayern Munich, they beat Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 in their first home match. If they can emulate Bayern, who won in Moscow in the last round of games, Atletico will be in a commanding position to qualify for the knockout stages, alongside the defending champions.

Aside from their 4-0 loss to Bayern, Diego Simeone's team can be extremely pleased with their start to the season. They are the only side still unbeaten in La Liga (P6 W4 D2) and are currently third in the table, three points behind the leaders Real Sociedad, but with two games in hand.

Lokomotiv are not faring nearly so well in their domestic league. They lost 2-1 at Sochi on Saturday, which was their second successive defeat in the Premier League. Realistically, it looks as if Lokomotiv are locked in a battle with Red Bull Salzburg for third place in Group A and Europa League qualification. Lokomotiv have the early edge in that contest, having drawn 2-2 in Salzburg.

Hosts can continue scoring

Atletico are the rightful favourites, but odds of 1.412/5 are much too slim. They tend to win games by fairly narrow margins and Lokomotiv were competitive in their home loss to Bayern Munich, which they only lost 2-1.

Lokomotiv have now scored in eight consecutive games. With Atletico no longer the defensively stable proposition of recent seasons, both teams to score looks too big at 2.466/4. If you combine both teams to score with an Atletico win and you can get odds of 3.711/4.