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| The Spanish La Liga returns this weekend with loads of enticing odds on offer! |
We enter Gameweek 3 of the Spanish La Liga with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Las Palmas all level on six points at the summit. All those teams will be in action on Saturday. Quique Setien’s side will face a tough test against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium, while Real Madrid will entertain minnows Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu. In the evening, reigning champions Barcelona host newly-promoted Deportivo Alaves at the Camp Nou. Atletico Madrid are still searching for their first win of the 2016/17 campaign. It didn’t happen for Diego Simeone’s men against two newly-promoted sides and if they want to emulate their 2013/14 exploits, it’s got to come against Celta Vigo on Saturday. Eduardo Berizzo’s team have lost both of their matches this season. There’s some other good matches to look forward to and lots of money to be made.
Friday 9 September
9/10 Real Sociedad | Draw 24/10 | Espanyol 32/10 (20:45)
Real Sociedad have taken three points from their opening two matches. Eusebio Sacristan’s side bounced back from their 3-0 home defeat to Real Madrid in Week 1 with a comfortable 2-0 victory away to newly-promoted Osasuna. Their opponents, Espanyol, are yet to win a match following their 6-4 defeat at Sevilla and 2-2 draw at home to Malaga. The last time these teams met, Sociedad were 5-0 winners and they’re tipped to oust their opponents.
Saturday 10 September
39/10 Celta Vigo | 23/10 | Atletico Madrid 8/10 (13:00)
Last season’s sixth placed Celta Vigo have struggled to find their rhythm this season. Eduardo Berizzo’s side have lost both of their matches, going down 1-0 at home to newly-promoted Leganes and 2-1 at Real Madrid last time out. Things only get tougher for Celta as they face Atletico Madrid this weekend. Diego Simeone’s men are still searching for their first win after failing to beat newcomers Deportivo Alaves and Leganes. Los Colchoneros are already four points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona and they cannot afford to lose any more ground to their title rivals. Atleti have so much quality in their squad and I’m backing them to come good here.
1/16 Real Madrid | 11/1 | Osasuna 33/1 (16:00)
Real Madrid have enjoyed a bright start to the 2016-17 season. Los Blancos have won both of their matches, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 away and Celta Vigo 2-1 at home. Zinedine Zidane’s side will be confident of a third straight victory over newly-promoted Osasuna. Los Rojillos are yet to win a match, drawing 1-1 at Malaga in Week 1 and losing 2-0 at home to Real Sociedad last time out. Osasuna are on a seven-game winless streak, including pre-season friendlies. Real Madrid have a plethora of weapons in their attack with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema leading a lethal team that is superior to Osasuna in all departments. Take Los Blancos to Win Half-time at 3/10.
6/10 Sevilla | 32/10 | Las Palmas 4/1 (18:15)
Jorge Sampaoli’s new-look Sevilla have picked up four points from their opening two matches. Their thrilling 6-4 victory over Espanyol on the opening day followed with a goalless draw at Villarreal before the International break. Sevilla will be hoping to return to winning ways but they’ll face a stern test against high-flyers Las Palmas. Quique Setien’s side are one of three teams (Barcelona and Real Madrid are the other two) to win both their matches. Las Palmas beat Valencia 4-2 at the Mestalla and thrashed Granada 5-1 last time out. A tight affair is expected but with home advantage, Sampaoli’s side should have the edge. Sevilla to Win + Both Teams To Score is great value at 17/10.
29/20 Malaga | 2/1 | Villarreal 2/1 (18:15)
Both Malaga and Villarreal are struggling to get their first win of the season, drawing their opening two matches. Last season it took Malaga seven weeks to get their first win, but Juande Ramos will be looking to get the ball rolling. Villarreal, however, will be optimistic of taking maximum points here due to their impressive recent record. The Yellow Submarine are unbeaten in their last four meetings against Malaga with three straight wins. I’m expecting a close affair but Villarreal are well worth a punt at 2/1.
1/12 Barcelona | 19/2 | Deportivo Alaves 25/1 (20:30)
After winning the Spanish Super Cup, beating Sevilla 5-0 on aggregate, Barcelona have got their season off to a perfect start. The La Liga champions thrashed Real Betis 6-2 in their season opener at the Camp Nou and followed up with a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao before the International break. Newcomers Deportivo Alaves have two points to their name following draws with Atletico Madrid and Sporting Gijon. Lionel Messi remains a doubt for Luis Enrique’s side after suffering a groin injury. However, Barca should have too much class for Alaves and I’m tipping them to win on the Half-time/Full-time double at 3/10.
Sunday 11 September
12/10 Sporting Gijon | 22/10 | Leganes 5/2 (12:00)
Both teams are unbeaten so far, taking four points from their opening two matches. Sporting Gijon kick started their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao, but that followed with a goalless draw away to newly-promoted Deportivo Alaves. Leganes, promoted to La Liga for the first time in their history, recorded a 1-0 victory away to Celta Vigo in their first match and held Atletico Madrid to a goalless draw. Leganes have had a much tougher start and I’m backing them on the Win/Draw Double Chance at 13/20.
15/20 Valencia | 26/10 | Real Betis 34/10 (16:00)
Valencia have made a slow start to the season having taken no points from their opening two games, leaving them bottom of the table. Pako Ayestaran is looking to improve last season’s 12th-place position, but he faces a real struggle after the club sold their best players. Paco Alcacer, Skhodran Mustafi, Andre Gomes and Sofiane Feghouli have left permanently, while Pablo Piatti, Alvaro Negredo and Denis Cheryshev have gone out on loan. Ayestaran will be optimistic of claiming maximum points against winless Real Betis. Gustavo Poyet’s team have taken only a point from their two matches following their goalless draw at home to Deportivo last time out. Prior to that result, they suffered a 6-2 defeat by Barcelona. The draw looks likely and offers good value at 26/10.
12/10 Granada | 23/10 | Eibar 23/10 (18:15)
Granada are winless from their opening two matches with one point to their name. Paco Jemez’s side suffered a 5-1 thrashing at Las Palmas before the International break and prior to that loss, had drawn 1-1 at home to Villarreal. Their opponents, Eibar, come into this match off a 1-0 victory over Valencia and Mendilibar will be looking to build on that result. The Basque side are undefeated against Granada in their previous four meetings with back-to-back wins, scoring eight goals and conceding twice. Eibar are tipped on the Win/Draw Double Chance at 6/10.
49/20 Deportivo | 9/4 | Athletic Bilbao 23/20 (20:30)
Deportivo La Coruna are unbeaten so far having picked up four points from their opening two matches. In their first match, Gaizka Garitano’s side sealed a 2-1 comeback victory against Eibar at the Estadio Riazor, thanks to Lucas Perez’s 87th-minute penalty. That result followed with a goalless draw away to Real Betis and Depor will be looking to return to winning ways. Last season’s top scorer Perez has left to join Arsenal and Garitano will rely on Marlos Moreno – on loan from Manchester City – to be the driving force in attack. Athletic Bilbao are yet to pick up a point from their opening two matches, losing to Sporting Gijon and Barcelona respectively. Depor and Bilbao have cancelled each other out four times from their previous six meetings. The draw looks well worth a punt at 9/4.
Written by Chadley Nagel
