While it’s always fun to see your favorite teams back on the field, preseason games have traditionally been nothing more than glorified training sessions. That changed a few years ago with the inception of the International Champions Cup. Many of the bigger European teams were already heading to places like the US and China to prepare for the new season, so it made sense to take advantage of that and make the preseason all the more interesting. The ICC had been a huge success, with huge crowds lining up to see the best teams that Europe has to offer.
This season, we have 12 teams taking part in this great event, with Guadalajara being the first Mexican team to be part of the mix. They came into this event as a bit of an underdog, and while things have certainly played out that way, it has definitely been a great experience for the Mexican side to face such quality competition. They will close out their ICC schedule on Monday night against Atletico Madrid. The Spanish giants are favored by 2 goals in this one, with the goal total set at 3 ¼.
Guadalajara vs Atletico Madrid 2019 International Champions Cup Lines & Pick
- When: Monday, July 22 at 9 PM EST
- Where: Globe Life Park, Arlington
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- 2019ICC Odds: Atletico Madrid -476 (Total 3.5)
Top Soccer Betting Picks for the Week – July 22nd Edition
Why bet on Guadalajara?
As we mentioned at the top of this piece, Guadalajara came into this competition as a genuine underdog, but the reality is that it’s more about the experience for them than it is about being crowned as the ICC champions. Things have gone pretty much as expected, with the Mexican side dropping both of their games to this point.
They were quite competitive in their opening game, going down 2-1 to Fiorentina, but they were seriously outclassed in their second game, losing 3-0 to Benfica. On the heels of those losses came a 3-0 defeat in Liga MX play, so this is a team very much in need of a positive result, which they are not likely to get in this one. This game may be more about damage control than anything else.
Expected Line-Up
- 4-A. Rodríguez
- 3-O. Alanís
- 21-H. Mier
- 2-J. Van Rankin
- 20-J. Molina
- 10-E. López
- 6-D. Villalpando
- 24-O. Peralta
- 11-I. Brizuela
- 9-A. Pulido
- 17-J. Sánchez
Why bet on Atletico Madrid?
While some teams in the ICC are just about done with their 3 games, this will be the opening game of the competition for Atletico Madrid. While this will be their first foray in the ICC this season, they have already played a couple of preseason games, losing their opener before winning 3-0 against Numancia in a friendly. This is going to be an interesting offseason for Madrid, as they will be looking at life without Antoine Griezmann in the coming season.
The goal for Madrid will be to get some wins under their belt, while hopefully getting some guys on the score sheet to build confidence ahead of the coming season. This could be the perfect opening game for Atletico, with the MLS All-Star Game just around the corner for them.
Expected Line-Up
- 13-J. Oblak
- 15-S. Savić
- 23-K. Trippier
- 22-Mario Hermoso
- 12-Renan Lodi
- 8-Saúl
- 14-Marcos Llorente
- 19-Diego Costa
- 9-Álvaro Morata
- 11-T. Lemar
- 7-João Félix
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
Given that Guadalajara is already in league play and looking at games in the Copa Mexico, they are probably not going to have their strongest team on the field for this one. This should be a comfortable win for Atletico Madrid.
Score: Guadalajara 1 – Atletico Madrid 4
