Bank on Benzema to maintain goalscoring hot-streak when Atletico visit the Bernabeu
Real Madrid are going great guns on all fronts this season and are have won every match they’ve played on home soil in the Spanish top-flight so far this term, averaging 4.25 goals per game in the process, and they’re unsurprisingly long odds-on ahead of Atletico Madrid’s visit to the Bernabeu on Saturday evening.
It’s been over 10 years since Atletico managed to beat their local rivals, and the chasm between the two sides is perfectly illustrated by the fact that the visitors have scored just 17 goals in La Liga this term, whereas Jose Mourinho’s men have already amassed an impressive goal haul of 42, 14 of which have been netted by Cristiano Ronaldo, and 11 by Gonzalo Higuain.
Mourinho has virtually a full-strength squad to choose from. Marcelo and Angel Di Maria are back from spells on the sidelines, with defender Ricardo Carvalho the only notable absentee. Nuri Sahin may have worked his way into the starting squad following his performance against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League in midweek.
Ominously for Atletico, Los Blancos’ insatiable appetite for goals showed no signs of abating when they thumped the Croatian outfit in the aforementioned Champions League group match. That they scored six without Ronaldo, who was rested but will return for this fixture, was impressive.
French striker Karim Benzema scored twice against Zagreb and, likely to lead the line ahead of Higuain again this weekend, he should be backed at a standout 5.0 with Unibet in the first goalscorer market. His first strike on Wednesday came after just two minutes of play, so he’s looking sharp.