Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid Prediction: Atleti to get on the board

Seattle Sounders and Atletico Madrid both suffered defeats in their respective opening fixtures of the Fifa Club World Cup and they square up against each other in the second round of matches on Thursday (23:00 BST, DAZN) at Lumen Field - the home of the Sounders.

The hosts were beaten by Brazilian outfit Botafogo, while Atleti's defeat came at the hands of Uefa Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. This match is one neither team can afford to lose. Read on for my Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid predictions, accompanied by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Seattle were able to get 45 mins out of defender Kim Kee-hee against Botafogo last time out as he recovered from a calf problem. He is likely to feature in defence against Atletico Madrid.

Forward Jordan Morris overcame a hamstring issue to make the squad but he was an unused substitute against Botafogo. Daniel Musovski could once again be supported in attack by Ryan Kent and Jesus Ferreira.

The MLS side are missing Stuart Hawkins due to a thigh problem, however, and he is set for six to eight weeks on the sidelines.

Seattle Sounders Club World Cup Preview

Atletico Madrid Club World Cup Preview

Atletico boss Diego Simeone will be forced into one change here as Clement Lenglet picked up a second yellow card for dissent against PSG and must now serve a one-match ban.

Jose Maria Gimenez is the most likely candidate to deputise for him alongside Robin Le Normand in the heart of defence. Simeone must also decide whether to persist with Marcos Llorente and Javi Galan as the full-backs or recall Nahuel Molina and Reinaldo Mandava.

Koke and Conor Gallagher are options to play in midfield if the Atleti boss want to switch up Rodrigo De Paul and Pablo Barrios.

Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez were the attackers against PSG but Alexander Sorloth will likely push for a start after having to settle for a spot on the bench in the opener.

Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid Odds

Seattle Sounders have won two of their last five games and they are 10/1 to best Atletico Madrid on Thursday, which may be tempting as they are playing on home turf.

The draw is on offer at 9/2. Atleti are the 1/4 favourites to win here, having won three of their past five matches. You will find better value in backing the Rojiblancos to win to nil, which they managed in 39% (15/38) of their La Liga fixtures this term.

This is priced at 19/20, which has an implied probability of 51.3%.

Over 2.5 goals has been a successful bet in three of Atleti's five games in all competitions and is on offer at 8/13 here.

Atletico Madrid to win to nil @ 19/20

This a big game for both teams as a defeat here could all but seal their exit from the Club World Cup. Seattle may have the home advantage but I don't think it will be enough for them to lay a glove on Atletico Madrid.

Simeone's side are renowned across Europe for their niche style of play which is all about mentally wearing down their opponents with their compact shape. This leads to them keeping a lot of clean sheets and they are often able to profit from mistakes their opponents make.

No one will besmirch Atleti for losing to arguably the best team in the world right now in PSG but they are going to be expected to get past Seattle Sounders with relative ease to boost their chances of progressing to the knockout stage.

The Colchoneros have plenty of attacking talent in the final third in the likes of Alvarez, Sorloth and Griezmann, and they should prove too much for the Sounders' back line to handle.

I think Atleti's defence will be able to tighten things up after shipping four goals last time out, too, so I'm going for them to win to nil.

Julian Alvarez anytime goalscorer @ 4/5

When looking for value in the goalscorer markets, Alvarez is the one who stands out for me. He has so far netted 29 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign for Atletico Madrid, and he was denied his 30th against PSG last time out due to VAR.

The Argentine looked lively against Les Parisiens and he will be determined to open his Club World Cup account after seeing one chalked off in the last match. Atleti can't afford to drop more points if they wish to go far in this tournament, they have to beat the Sounders - and I think Alvarez will be the key to that.

Offers

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