Football Bet of the Day: Expect a busy first half in Barcelona

There's an all-Spanish affair in the Uefa Champions League quarter-final as Barcelona host Atletico Madrid for Wednesday's first leg (20:00 BST, TNT Sports 2). These sides have been well-acquainted this season, having met four times already in domestic competitions. The latest came on Saturday as Barca were 2-1 winners in Madrid in La Liga.

My Football Bet of the Day can be found below and it comes from this European contest.

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Odds

Barcelona are an 8/15 bet to win this first leg and they have won three of the four meetings this term.

Atletico are winless in their previous three competitive matches so they are a 9/2 shot to come out on top. The draw can be backed at 18/5.

Two of the past four meetings have produced over 3.5 goals, which is marketed at 1/1 on this occasion.

This is going to be the third time in over a month that these sides face each other, so they are probably not in the mood for another two clashes. Barca have had the better of the fixture this season, but Atleti did knock them out of the Copa del Rey thanks to a ruthless 4-0 home win in the first leg.

Could we be set for another Diego Simeone masterclass? It's hard to say over two legs but one thing I think we can expect is both teams to be fired up for the occasion.

Having played against each other as recently as Saturday, both camps will know exactly what to expect on Wednesday. With an array of attacking talents on both sides, I think this game shouldn't lack for goals.

Betfred are of the same opinion so the general markets aren't offering the kind of price I'm after for my Bet of the Day. However, I do like the look of the both teams to score in the first half market at 9/4 (implied probability of 30.8%).

This is because it has been a winning selection in two of the four meetings this season, including Friday's La Liga clash which Barca won 2-1. Goals in the first half came courtesy of Giuliano Simeone and Marcus Rashford.

Both times this bet has landed, the teams were playing one another in La Liga. Interestingly, both games saw Atleti score first - which is a 9/5 shot on Wednesday.

Atletico have seen both teams score in the first half in two of their three-most recent outings in the Champions League and I think this trend is worth backing to continue.

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