UEFA Super Cup Predictions > Aug 15th

[StevieDay1983]

The annual UEFA Super Cup is scheduled for this Wednesday night in an 8pm kick-off. It is contested between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League. This time around it was Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Take a look at the odds and share your thoughts on what bets to place for this show piece event! 

[StevieDay1983]

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

The 2018 UEFA Super Cup will see a Madrid derby between Champions League winners Real Madrid and Europa League champions Atletico Madrid in a game that is set to be played this Wednesday in an 8pm kick-off at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia.

This game summarises how superior the La Liga clubs are in European competition right now. The fact that this is Real Madrid's third consecutive appearance in this show piece event is a remarkable achievement. It is their sixth appearance in total and they have won on four occasions.

Real Madrid are entering a new era under Julen Lopetegui. After the chaos that his departure from the Spain national team job caused at the World Cup this summer, he has not exactly kept his head in the sand with the high-profile departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and the hugely controversial signing of former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The signings of defender Alvaro Odriozola and attacker Vinicius Junior have also seen fans murmur both positive and negative sounds about the new head coach.

Things are slightly more settled with Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone remains in charge for his eighth consecutive season with the club. The double signing of Thomas Lemar and Rodri has set tongues wagging about how this could be the season that Atletico finally win their first La Liga title since 2014. The departure of Kevin Gameiro is unlikely to dampen the optimism.

It's always hard to tell how these semi-competitive games will go. I just have a feeling that the familiarity and experience that Simeone has with his players could well trump the fresh ideas of Lopetegui. The jury are still out on the former goalkeeper as a manager despite the early signs proving encouraging. The Real Madrid job is one that can often be the fall of many a talented manager. Has he taken it on too early?

I really do fancy Atletico here. Losing Ronaldo is huge. He bailed them out a lot of times over the past few years. The idea that Gareth Bale will simply slot in and replace Ronaldo as the star man is outrageous. As good as Bale is, it's impossible to replace one of the greatest players of all-time let alone expect instant results as well. If Lopetegui doesn't manage this Real team brilliantly they could be in for a tough season.

Atletico Madrid To Lift Trophy @ 2.25 with Paddy Power

BTTS @ 1.75 with Betway

@vasilli07, @Xcout, @Icongene, @KikoCy, @DrBetter, @Duuc, @DrO, @immortal--, @Notorious, @betcatalog, @KingSoccertips, @discipline, @Pep004, @HastGill1, @ElPrincipito007, @salmonman, @DW_United, @allthethings, @MightyWell, @liamcorrigan86, @mijOsim, @dorleywilliams, @soccerprediction123, @jamiedavies02, @TOTTI3, @LePapo, @seifer365, @MPLouis, @Jack A, @JJG, @Pipoca, @neilovan, @wcz, @newjack, @matt-e-matticle, @EBTA, @cluelessG, @mtom, @Marek76, @allyhibs, and @WinningAdvice, will any of you guys be placing bets on this game?

[DrO]

I was thinking of under 2.5 goals,but not anymore after your preview.

[Xcout]

As always, Good analysis @StevieDay1983 ! And great picks. I personally fancied Real Madrid but 0 AH, therefore void. Still Real Madrid was ahead, some post match thoughts:

- Would Thibaut Courtois had been able to do more in Diego Costa goals?

- It was just like karma when Atletico was able to take the lead in the extra time, like making up for the lost Champions League final against Real Madrid.  Some would argue that only in the same set, a CL finals that would be consider like revenge. Still just curious how things unfold.

[StevieDay1983]

I'm going to say something controversial here. I actually think Courtois is overrated. Yes, there's no doubt he's a quality keeper but he makes quite a few silly errors for a keeper that should be performing a lot better. Not sure he'd be so highly sought after if he hadn't always played in front of such effective defensive units. I'm interested to see how he does at Real Madrid. He'll still have it easy but will he be a big step up from Keylor Navas? I'm not so sure. Both have weaknesses that can cost posts each season.

[Xcout]

I agreed with you, Chelsea played very focused on defense and more on the Mourinho years there.  Still he was the best goalkeeper in the FIFA World Cup 2018. In 2014 World Cup was the showcase that trigger Madrid to bought Keylor Navas and James Rodriguez, strangely besides Courtois, Florentino have not brought another world cup star, it might be the high prices.

I think that the arrival of Courtois to Real Madrid was more of things falling in place more than he being sought after, what I have been able to detect is this:

• Courtois contract was set to expire in 2019, therefore Chelsea would get nothing. 
• Courtois wanted to go to Madrid to be near his kids.
• Being Real Madrid, of course they pay a higher price, but still it is a 26 years old keeper that might reach his prime in the coming years, and considering the high prices on the market, Allison to Liverpool and Kepa to Chelsea, the price was not that high. 
• For some time Florentino has been looking to get another quality Goalkeeper or one to put real pressure to Navas, he tried with Casilla, but in the end he was no match. Now they have a proven alternative in case Navas commits a mistake.

Normally it would have been Real Madrid the one to execute the clause of release for Kepa, but with the change in the direction in transfers, now the team is focused on getting them young and see them blossom, with the consecuential economic benefit that it brings. Regarding the last four summer transfer windows, Real Madrid has a positive balance, something rare among the top clubs. And if you see the three consecutive Champions League they have been spot on with this.

The real goalkeeper Florentino wanted was De Gea or Kepa. Lets remember the Keylor-De Gea Fax issue. Also they even had Kepa very close to joining the team on the cheap but Zidane did not wanted the goalkeeper and then Kepa renew his contract with the release clause that was executed by Chelsea.  I do not understand why Real Madrid did not bought Kepa in that moment and allow him to remain in Athletic Bilbao.

With Real Madrid you have to wait for the close of the market to be safe. Therefore until August 30 anything can happen.

Sorry, I started ranting about some things related, but to answer you cuestion, more than a big step up, more like a path to replacement, Navas is 31 years and Courtois 26, and more a level fight for the keeper position, than a greater improvement for what already on the team.