It’s week 16 of La Liga and the last round of games before a 10-day Christmas break for the Spanish teams. There are only 9 games scheduled for this weekend, as Barcelona are away winning the utterly pointless FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. The beneficiaries of their absence are Sporting Gijon, who were due to play them this weekend, but get an extra long break instead.
So what fixtures, and more importantly what betting opportunities can we look forward to this weekend?
The first one I’ve picked out is Deportivo vs. Eibar. Both teams are having a pretty good season. Eibar’s home games tend to be quite low scoring, where they are both scoring and conceding an average of just about one goal per game. On the road however they play with a bit more freedom and are averaging over 1.4 goals (conceding 1.1). Deportivo at home are averaging a very solid 1.5 goals a game and are conceding 1.2, so everything about this fixture seems to suggest a high scoring game. Over 2.5 goals is priced at a fantastic 27/20 with Bet365 and represents fantastic value.
For our second bet, we’re again looking at the over/under 2.5 market, this time in the match between Real Sociedad and Villareal. Villareal simply aren’t scoring goals away from the Madrigal, having failed to do so in their last four away games. Sociedad have had a couple of good results in recent weeks since the departure of David Moyes, beating both Eibar and Sevilla at home, but they have averaged just 1.14 goals a game at home this season. Heading into the break I think this is going to be a really dull game and I think they’ll struggle to score two goals between them, never mind three. The under 2.5 goals is priced at 4/6 with 888sport. Not the best price in the world, but still a bit of value there. If you’re looking for a bigger return, chance the under 1.5 at 2/1 with several bookies.
Lastly, we’re going to look at the match between Malaga and Atletico Madrid. Malaga are struggling this season sitting just above the relegation zone, but they are coming off an impressive win in Madrid against a sometimes foolhardy Rayo Vallecano team. Diego Simeone however is guiding Atletico through another outstanding season. They currently stand level on points with Barcelona and have the opportunity to head into the break 3 points ahead…ahead of a team with Messi, Suarez, and Neymar leading the line. That is phenomenal stuff.
They have the best away record in the league and despite Malaga’s relatively solid defence at home, they should brush them aside with ease. The Atletico win is 5/6 with SkyBet and you should be loving that price.
Enjoy the Christmas break, and see you for another preview in about 2 weeks!
